AvidBiotics Obtains License to UCSD’s Protein Scaffold Technology

AvidBiotics Corp. has announced the receipt of an exclusive, worldwide license from the University of California San Diego (UCSD) for technology that centers on the discovery of a ligand- binding protein scaffold that accommodates 10 trillion sequences and is therefore able to specifically recognize a broad and diverse array of molecules.

This protein engineering platform may be useful for diagnostics, prophylactics and therapeutics.

The structures were discovered by Partho Ghosh, professor of chemistry and biochemistry, and his team at UCSD, using x-ray crystallography and licensed by UCSD Technology Transfer & Intellectual Property Services (TechTIPS).

This discovery explains how a novel class of genetic elements identified by his collaborator, Professor Jeffery F. Miller and his research team at UCLA, utilizes sequence variation within a single protein scaffold to generate functional binding diversity.

"In mammals, antibodies can generate trillions of variations based on how the whole protein folds, but the folding of the large antibody protein structure is complex and difficult to redesign for novel applications," said Dr. Ghosh.

"In contrast, with our new understanding of this scaffold, we can now efficiently replicate the extraordinary diversity based on a single, simple protein structure."

"The discovery by Dr. Ghosh and his team at UCSD clearly elucidates the protein scaffold and its importance to diversity generation in nature," said David Martin Jr., MD, CEO of AvidBiotics.

"This technology is the natural complement to the Diversity Generator technology we acquired from UCLA and further develops the intellectual property assets of the company."

"We plan to use it first as the foundation on which to develop novel therapeutic agents to treat significant drug-resistant bacterial infections."