The Alphamer® platform
Redirecting the immune
system to fight disease
What are Alphamers®?
Alphamers® are modular molecules made up of three core components. This unique design allows us to leverage a powerful combination of targeting and immunological properties to deliver precise and potent treatment of life-threatening indications.
What makes Alphamers®?
Alphamers® are our proprietary antibody recruiting molecule (ARM) that redirect host immune responses through recruitment of pre-existing, abundant antibodies from the body’s natural repertoire. Through this unique mechanism of action, Alphamers® have the potential to be effective in even the most vulnerable and immune-compromised patients.
Each molecule combines a customisable targeting and immunological effector domain, joined by our proprietary, non-cleavable linker technology. This composition enables Alphamers to stably bind to the surface of a disease target whilst simultaneously presenting select glycan epitopes to the immune system, leading to recruitment of endogenous anti-glycan antibodies and the activation of a broad immune response, including complement killing and phagocytosis.
Alphamers can be developed for a broad range of targets, including small molecules, monoclonal antibodies, and peptides, making them applicable across a range of indications.
How it works
1. Targeting domain
The targeting domain selectively binds the target of interest.
2. Proprietary linkers
Linkers optimise the presentation of the Effector domain to the host immune system and thereby maximise the efficacy of the drug.
3. Effector domain
The effector domain presents a rhamnose sugar to recruit natural host immunity.
Alphamer binding to LPS on cell surface causes direct anti-bacterial killing and enhanced serum (complement) killing.
Alphamer recruits pre-existing anti-rhamnose antibodies to cell surface.
This results in complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC) and antibody-dependent opsonophagocytic killing (ADCP)
Science consistently produces a new crop of miraculous truths and dazzling devices every year.
Kary Mullis PhD
Nobel Laureate and inventor of Alphamer concept (1944-2019)