Our Technology

Our technology has broad applications

Our SpyTag/SpyCatcher protein superglue enables us to avoid many of the challenges of binding antigens to virus-like particles

Vaccines rely on the body’s immune system recognizing foreign proteins called antigens and responding to them by creating antibodies to fight against infection.

Spy technology can be incorporated with different platforms to create a plug-and-play toolbox for vaccine development with several advantages.

SPYVLP Platform

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One of the best ways to create an effective vaccine is to make a harmless virus-like particle (VLP) and bind target antigens to it. This then sends a strong signal to the immune system and evokes a strong antibody response.

However, binding antigens to the coat proteins of VLPs in a controlled and reliable way using conventional technology is highly complex. Directly fusing antigens to VLPs often damages the shape of the antigens or VLPs or both, rendering the vaccine ineffective. The alternative of chemically binding the antigens to the VLP is a complex and time-consuming process that does not allow scientists to control the quantity or orientation of antigens that attach to the VLP. This can also compromise the efficacy of the vaccine.

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Our proprietary SpyTag/SpyCatcher protein superglue enables us to circumvent these issues. Our unique technology allows us to split a protein from the common bacterium, Streptococcus pyogenes, into two parts: the SpyTag peptide that can be bound to antigens and its partner protein SpyCatcher that binds to the VLP. The two pieces of the original SpyTag/SpyCatcher protein then bind back together in a spontaneous conjugation forming an unbreakable covalent bond.

The process is rapid, efficient, irreversible and extremely versatile. It allows for specific assembly of antigens on VLPs to generate an optimal immune response and can be applied to a wide range of infectious viral, bacterial and parasitical diseases and potentially to cancer and allergies. Both SpyTag and SpyCatcher can be made in any cell type.

Armed with this breakthrough technology we are able to generate a wide range of vaccines candidates.

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SPYVECTOR Platform

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SPYVECTOR is a platform based on recombinant adenovirus. The platform enables easy and efficient covalent decoration of the surface of the adenovirus with pathogen antigens in addition to genetically encoding the antigen.

The platform increases the quantity of antibodies induced by decorating the adenovirus with the antigen while maintaining the T cell response to the encoded antigen. This display can shield and avoid anti-vector immunity, thereby increasing the possibility of using the same vector again and again. SpyBiotech is exploring both infectious disease and other applications for SPYVECTOR.

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Broader applications of our technology

SpyBiotech’s proprietary technology has an exceptionally broad range of applications in vaccine development. The simple, efficient and irreversible reaction between the peptide SpyTag and its protein partner SpyCatcher provides unique opportunities to assemble vaccines against viruses, bacteria and parasites.

Spy-based immunotherapy has also shown promise against cancer and chronic diseases. In the last few years, work at SpyBiotech and by academic groups around the world has generated important data on these diverse targets and different immunization platforms.

Viral Diseases

In the context of viruses, SpyTag has been used for vaccine assembly for global challenges that have resisted standard vaccine approaches over decades, as well as for newly emerging viral outbreaks.

SpyBiotech is leading the development of a vaccine against cytomegalovirus (CMV), which is present throughout the world and is a major cause of deafness, blindness and neurological disabilities in babies.

SpyTag has been employed by leading groups at the NIH and Caltech towards a vaccine for HIV(1,2).

SpyTag-based platforms were used to generate vaccine candidates for vector-transmitted viruses, such as Tick-borne encephalitis3 and Zika Virus4.

Most work has used Spy technology prophylactically, constructing vaccines, but recent work has shown that Spy-based nanoparticle assembly also has therapeutic potential, towards clearance of Hepatitis B Virus5.

As soon as the SARS-CoV-2/Covid-19 outbreak started, academics began to use SpyTag-technology to move towards clinical testing of a vaccine.

References

  1. A. Escolano, H. B. Gristick, M. E. Abernathy, J. Merkenschlager, R. Gautam, T. Y. Oliveira, J. Pai, A. P. West, C. O. Barnes, A. A. Cohen, H. Q. Wang, J. Golijanin, D. Yost, J. R. Keeffe, Z. J. Wang, P. Zhao, K. H. Yao, J. Bauer, L. Nogueira, H. Gao, A. V. Voll, D. C. Montefiori, M. S. Seaman, A. Gazumyan, M. Silva, A. T. McGuire, L. Stamatatos, D. J. Irvine, L. Wells, M. A. Martin, P. J. Bjorkman and M. C. Nussenzweig, Nature, 2019, 570, 468.
  2. S. J. Krebs, Y. D. Kwon, C. A. Schramm, W. H. Law, G. Donofrio, K. H. Zhou, S. Gift, V. Dussupt, I. S. Georgiev, S. Schatzle, J. R. McDaniel, Y. T. Lai, M. Sastry, B. S. Zhang, M. C. Jarosinski, A. Ransier, A. L. Chenine, M. Asokan, R. T. Bailer, M. Bose, A. Cagigi, E. M. Cale, G. Y. Chuang, S. Darko, J. I. Driscoll, A. Druz, J. Gorman, F. Laboune, M. K. Louder, K. McKee, L. Mendez, M. A. Moody, A. M. O’Sullivan, C. Owen, D. J. Peng, R. Rawi, E. Sanders-Buell, C. H. Shen, A. R. Shiakolas, T. Stephens, Y. Tsybovsky, C. Tucker, R. Verardi, K. Y. Wang, J. Zhou, T. Q. Zhou, G. Georgiou, S. M. Alam, B. F. Haynes, M. Rolland, G. R. Matyas, V. R. Polonis, A. B. McDermott, D. C. Douek, L. Shapiro, S. Tovanabutra, N. L. Michael, J. R. Mascola, M. L. Robb, P. D. Kwong and N. A. Doria-Rose, Immunity, 2019, 50, 677.
  3. View More References