The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), GlycoMimetics, Inc. (GMI), and Glycosensors and Diagnostics, LLC (G&D) today announced a collaboration to develop an AIDS vaccine using novel compounds that mimic carbohydrates, called glycomimetics. The project will be funded by IAVI's Innovation Fund, a program launched to support the application of novel and unconventional technologies to AIDS vaccine design and development.
This innovative collaboration pairs the specialized design capabilities of GMI and the novel biomolecular simulation technology of G&D with the vaccine design expertise of Oxford University researcher Dr. Chris Scanlan and IAVI's unique anti-carbohydrate antibodies. The goal of the project is to create carbohydrate immunogens capable of stimulating protective antibody responses to HIV. "This effort combines the advanced technology and expertise from four diverse partners to address a major challenge in HIV vaccine design: the design of HIV vaccines that target the carbohydrate layer that shields the virus from the immune system," said Hansi Dean, Director, New Alliances at IAVI.
The collaboration builds upon GMI's expertise in glycobiology-based therapies and aims to develop compounds with improved stability over the native HIV glycan shield by mimicking structures that bind to neutralizing antibodies. As an emerging area for vaccine development, the effort explores ways to better understand the molecular interactions of functional carbohydrates, as well as the role of technology in the design of potent glycomimetic compounds as potential immunogens, the active ingredients of HIV vaccines.
G&D, a company that provides enabling technologies for applications in glycoscience, will play a key role in the partnership by providing in silico (computer-simulated) and biophysical evaluation of the potential immunogens. The company is led by Robert Woods, Ph.D., who is also Professor of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Georgia Complex Carbohydrate Research Center.
"We are excited to have the opportunity to work with the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative and Dr. Woods on this pivotal project," said John Magnani, Ph.D., Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer, GlycoMimetics. "This provides an excellent opportunity to apply our specialized chemistry expertise to help address current unmet needs in the prevention and treatment of HIV and AIDS."
"The opportunity to bring state-of-the-art computational techniques to bear on such a serious challenge in vaccine design is exciting," said Dr. Woods, G&D President and developer of the GLYCAM modeling software.
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