Strengthening EU's pandemic preparedness
The kick-off of the EvaMobs project
What if we could already start preparing to combat a future viral outbreak that has the potential to cause a pandemic? What if we could create antivirals that can be easily and rapidly adapted in case of emergency situations? From the COVID-19 pandemic, we experienced drastically what it means to encounter a new viral outbreak and not have an antiviral ready for it. With globalization, climate change, and increased human-animal contact, the risk of new viral outbreaks increases significantly. This asks for a better preparedness against viral outbreaks by having a way to rapidly and effectively create new antiviral biopharmaceuticals.
In a new project, funded by the Horizon Europe programme (grant number 101137419), a consortium of renowned partners is diving into a novel strategy for developing antivirals. Currently, the antivirals that we have available are specifically targeted to a certain virus, such as the flu virus, and can thereby only act against a limited number of viruses. But what if instead of developing only one specific antiviral at a time we could develop a platform that can rapidly discover and produce the specific molecules that can fight any given virus and reduce the risk of pandemic outbreaks?
To achieve this, the EvaMobs project is taking a novel approach, using so-called evolvable “monobodies”, or “Mobs” for short. Mobs are small proteins that can be built to have a high affinity for any type of viral protein. In other words, this framework can be used to easily generate specific molecules that can “attack” and inactivate a virus. The technology can be used to create molecules that can be easily tailored to a broad range of different viruses. Using evolvable and rapidly adaptable monobodies, EvaMobs aims to create a platform for the quick development of new antiviral biopharmaceuticals.
Led by ITQB NOVA
EvaMobs is led Cláudio Soares and Diana Lousa, of the Protein Modelling Laboratory at ITQB NOVA, who are experts in computational biology. During the COVID-19 pandemic, they joined forces with other partners and implemented the BioPlaTTAR project, financed by the La Caixa foundation, to develop antiviral miniproteins and antibodies. This has already generated promising antiviral leads. EvaMobs was born from the desire to take things further, by focusing on Mobs that offer several advantages over traditional biopharmaceuticals, and going up to phase I clinical trials to show that the strategy is safe and effective. “By streamlining a platform that is able to quickly go all the way from the computational design up to the clinical validation, we will not only increase our preparedness to fight viral pathogens but also open new avenues to fight multiple diseases,” Cláudio Soares explains. To achieve these objectives, the project leaders teamed up with a large and interdisciplinary team of renowned experts in different fields.
The EvaMobs consortium consists of 11 partners, from Portugal, Switzerland, Spain, Ireland, Belgium, Croatia, Germany and the Netherlands. The team is highly multidisciplinary, combining expertise ranging from fundamental computational biology to clinical trials. “We are really excited to work with such a strong and eclectic team to create the biopharmaceuticals of the future!” Diana Lousa declares.
“By streamlining a platform that is able to quickly go all the way from the computational design up to the clinical validation, we will not only increase our preparedness to fight viral pathogens but also open new avenues to fight multiple diseases.”
Combining Expertise
In the five-year project, EvaMobs will focus on 4 main viruses: SARS-CoV-2, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), influenza, and the Zika virus. These 4 test cases will be used to validate the efficacy of the EvaMobs platform. To achieve this platform for broad-spectrum antiviral production, the project combines expertise from different fields. Starting with combining computational design and artificial intelligence, the platform aims to be able to generate millions of computer-designed Mobs. The platform will predict which modifications to make to the original protein to create a Mob that can inactivate the targeted virus. By characterizing all potential Mob candidates, a narrowed down selection of several hundred will be produced and tested in viral infection assays. From these assays, the most promising Mobs will be selected for further trials and testing. Ultimately, the best Mob will be tested in a phase 1 clinical trial.
Eventually, with this platform in place, we will be able to act fast and produce new antivirals rapidly during a future viral outbreak, strengthening the EU’s pandemic preparedness.
EvaMobs Project Facts
- Project name: Evolvable and rapidly adaptable monobodies: a broad-spectrum antiviral platform
- Project acronym: EvaMobs
- Start date: 1 January 2024
- Duration: 5 years
- Budget: €8 million
- Coordination: NOVA University of Lisbon
- Website: www.evamobs.eu
