Ablynx gets 1.9M-euro award for nanobodies research

Ghent, Belgium-based Ablynx the biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of nanobodies, has been awarded a grant worth nearly 1.9 million euros ($2.6 million) by the Institute for the Promotion of Innovation by Science and Technology in Flanders (IWT).

The grant allows Ablynx to accelerate the speed of exploring a number of new therapeutic Nanobody applications, in which their unique properties would be exploited. These include their exceptional stability allowing pulmonary delivery, small size and exceptional format flexibility and ability to access targets, so far inaccessible to conventional antibodies, with the potential to provide a highly-efficient virus neutralization capability. Importantly, this funding will enable Ablynx to expand its dominant intellectual property portfolio.

Work under the grant will be conducted in collaboration with leading research groups, including teams at Utrecht University, the Netherlands, and with a wide network of academic collaborators in Belgium, Norway, Germany, the UK, Spain and France, the firm says.