Abera Bioscience AB (“Abera” or “the company”) is increasing its focus in oncology and has initiated preclinical studies at the contract research company Truly Labs. The purpose of the studies is to explore the company’s technology platforms in oncology and select tracks for future development, in accordance with what has previously been communicated in the company’s memorandum.
Abera Bioscience is a Swedish biotechnology company that develops vaccine candidates based on innovative and patent-protected technology platforms. The business has so far been focused on prophylactic (preventive) vaccines, e.g. the company’s pneumococcal vaccine Ab-01.12. The company is now expanding its operations to therapeutic (treatment) vaccines against cancer, in the so-called immuno-oncology space. Immuno-oncology entails the concept of activating and directing the body’s own immune system to combat malignant tumors.
– We are excited to now have started our studies in immuno-oncology at Truly Labs. External and internal research indicates that our technologies have great potential in the field. Our goal is to use our technology and existing results and knowledge in immuno-oncology to strengthen the efficacy of already existing and approved products, says Maria Alriksson, CEO of Abera Bioscience.
Abera’s proprietary platform technologies are multifaceted and centered around the ability to decorate gram-negative bacterial cells or vesicles derived from these cells, so-called Outer Membrane Vesicles (OMVs). These function as carriers to which different types of molecules can be attached, including disease-specific antigens and tumor-targeting molecules. The company’s technologies also enable production of prototype vaccines in which cargos can be easily replaced, allowing rapid screening of several candidate vaccines and therapeutics.
– Our partner for these studies is the Swedish contract research company Truly Labs, which comes with the best references from industry colleagues, and has broad experience in preclinical development in immuno-oncology. From the start, the collaboration has been characterized by creativity and a clear focus on reaching the market in a short time. Our plan is to test several different variants where we use our platform to improve existing technologies in order to select the most promising for further development. This means that we are now accelerating and building a new line of business in the company, within a niche with great market potential and opportunities for commercial collaborations, Maria Alriksson continues.