BOSTON — Alloy Therapeutics and the Institute for Protein Innovation have formed a strategic collaboration to develop new antibody discovery tools aimed at supporting next-generation therapeutics.
The partnership will focus on creating custom VHH, or nanobody, libraries designed for antibody discovery, including bispecific and multispecific therapeutics. The organizations said the collaboration combines Alloy’s drug discovery and development infrastructure with the Institute for Protein Innovation’s expertise in synthetic antibody discovery, high-throughput in vitro platforms and protein engineering.
Alloy, a biotechnology ecosystem company, said the effort is intended to make advanced discovery tools more broadly available to researchers and drug developers. The companies said the platform could help developers move more quickly against complex biological targets, including in areas such as neuroscience, where traditional antibody approaches may be more limited.
“This collaboration reflects the pace at which innovation is happening in our industry and the need to bring the best technologies together under one ecosystem,” said Errik Anderson, CEO and Founder of Alloy Therapeutics. “By integrating IPI’s cutting-edge in vitro discovery and protein engineering capabilities with Alloy’s in vivo capabilities, we are expanding what’s possible in antibody design, especially for multispecific formats, while maintaining the speed and scalability that today’s drug developers demand.”
As part of the collaboration, the Institute for Protein Innovation has developed two synthetic, humanized VHH libraries using yeast display. The libraries incorporate protein engineering techniques intended to improve stability, reduce immunogenicity and enhance developability.
The libraries are designed with plug-and-play functionality, allowing them to be integrated into therapeutic formats including bispecific and multispecific constructs.
“We recognize the need for protein tools that enhance biological investigations in both commercial and academic settings and industry’s demand for platforms that accelerate therapeutic discovery,” said Ken Fasman, President and CEO of IPI. “As a nonprofit with industrial-scale capabilities, our Institute is uniquely positioned to collaborate with partners like Alloy—meeting their needs and advancing the broader drug development ecosystem.”
VHH antibodies are increasingly used in next-generation therapeutic development because of their small size, stability and ability to access challenging targets. Their modular structure also makes them useful for developing multispecific molecules, a strategic focus for Alloy as it expands its technical capabilities and AI-driven discovery work.
The organizations said biotech and pharmaceutical partners will be able to use the collaboration’s capabilities to outsource hit discovery, accelerate development timelines and improve the likelihood of success.
The partnership reflects both organizations’ efforts to advance protein science, expand access to advanced discovery tools and support faster therapeutic development.
