SC3: STRUCTURE-BASED OPTIMIZATION OF ANTIBODIES

TUESDAY, JANUARY 21 | 5:45 - 8:45 PM (DINNER PROVIDED)

Aqua 310A

CHI’s “Structure-Based Optimization of Antibodies” is a 3-hour course that offers a quick overview of the concepts, strategies, and tools of structure-based optimization of antibodies. This lecture will cover structure-based techniques to modulate affinity, create novel constructs (such as Fc-fusions, bispecifics, etc.) along with increasing the manufacturability of a biologic. The class is directed at scientists new to the industry, academic scientists, and career protein engineers wanting a quick overview about how structure can aid in guiding experimental design.

Detailed Agenda

5:45 pm Welcome and Opening Remarks

Outline:

  • Basics of Structural Modeling
    • What is molecular modeling and where does it fit into drug discovery?
    • Modeling 101
  • Affinity & Specificity
    • Examining interactions & predicting binding affinity/specificity
    • Introducing avidity

6:15 Dinner Break

  • Engineering Therapeutic Constructs
    • Bispecific antibody engineering
    • Rational design of Fc-fusion proteins
    • ADC design
  • Modulation of Biological Functions
    • Pharmacokinetics
    • Immune effector functions
  • Structure-Based Developability Assessment
    • Protein stability (thermal, chemical, and aggregation)
    • Immunogenicity and humanization

8:45 Close of Short Course


Instructor:

Traian Sulea, PhD, Principal Research Officer, Human Health Therapeutics, Biotechnology Research Institute, National Research Council Canada

Dr. Traian Sulea is a Principal Research Officer who joined the National Research Council Canada as a post-doctoral fellow in 1995. He is also Adjunct Professor at the Institute of Parasitology of McGill University since 2012. Dr. Sulea has broad expertise in applying computational approaches to the discovery and optimization of bioactive small-molecules and biologics. He has contributed to the development of computational methods for biomolecular applications, focusing on continuum solvation models and binding-affinity scoring functions. He has applied structural modeling for bioengineering of growth-factor traps and selective tumor targeting, as well as antibody humanization, conjugation, affinity maturation, de novo design, and developability. Dr. Sulea has authored 94 scientific articles and book chapters, and is an inventor on 29 patents issued or pending.

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