Building an antibody engineering platform to advance antibody therapeutic innovation
High-dose vitamin D to prevent progression from upper respiratory infections to asthma attacks (the Rescue-D study): A feasibility trial
Dr Ahuva Nissim and Dr David Collier
Professor Adrian Martineau, Professor Christopher Griffiths and Professor Aziz Sheikh
Awarded £287,793
Awarded £125,991 The development of innovative therapies for various diseases is an increasingly important research goal for for SMD and Barts Health. The production of Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), has become a major asset for the treatment of various diseases including cancer, cardiovascular, inflammation and autoimmune disease. MAbs represent an almost limitless source of therapeutic and diagnostic reagents as they can be synthesised to bind to and treat almost any substance. This grant is to build specialised antibody ‘libraries’ to support the development of novel antibody-based drugs for use in patients within Barts Health and beyond. Antibody libraries are constructed using the genomic information found in proteins to allow for fast, high throughput screening of therapies for a specified target. The phage display technique is a widely used method for this type of protein engineering. The use of patient-derived libraries will enrich the repertoire of antibodies produced, allowing for safe and efficient translation into the clinic.
The UK has one of the highest rates of asthma deaths in Europe and Barts Health paediatricians have highlighted asthma as a local public health emergency. Current approaches to prevention and management of asthma attacks are unsatisfactory. The team previously showed that taking vitamin D supplements not only boosts the immune system to prevent colds and other infections, but also cuts the risk of asthma attacks. As many people forget to take daily vitamin supplements, an alternative approach could be to take a big ‘rescue’ dose of vitamin D at the first sign of a cold to prevent it developing to trigger an asthma attack. With this award, the team will perform a feasibility study before seeking funds for a large definitive trial to test this new approach. This project will increase the understanding of the disease by examining how early intervention with vitamin D modifies the immunological process of acute viral infection and the development of asthma attacks. A YEAR IN GRANTS 2018 – 2019
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