Alphabodies are transformative biotherapeutics designed and created to address important disease targets that are considered “undruggable” by existing therapeutics.
Complix’s goal is to use its unique Alphabody technology to develop transformative biotherapeutics for applications in viral diseases, oncology, immuno-oncology and autoimmunity, which are large therapeutic areas with high unmet medical need. The Complix team is committed to bringing its therapeutic Alphabodies to the clinic to treat and cure debilitating diseases and help patients who are in desperate need of new and effective therapies.
The Company is developing Cell Penetrating Alphabodies (CPABs) that can address disease targets present in the cytosol or in the nucleus of human cells and playing an important role in cancer development and progression, or in regulation of the immune system. CPABs act with great precision and high affinity on targets that are considered “intractable” by current drug formats, such as antibodies or small chemicals. As a pioneer in intracellular targeting, Complix aims to develop a collection of first-in-class therapeutics with the potential to cure severe diseases with high unmet medical need.
CPABs are biologicals that combine the benefits of antibodies, including high specificity and potency, with those of small molecules, such as cell penetration and high stability.
Each CPAB is a small alpha-helical protein that contains a specifically engineered binding domain. By modifying the amino acid sequence in the binding domain of the CPAB, Complix researchers can design CPABs against a broad diversity of disease targets with exquisite precision and potency. In particular, CPABs are highly suited to act on intractable targets that are promoting abnormal cell growth in cancer or regulating growth or differentiation in cells of the immune system.
Pre-clinical proof of concept data has demonstrated that CPABs engage specifically with such targets and cause a therapeutic effect in animal models of cancer and autoimmune disease.
Complix is also engaged in an anti-Covid-19 drug development effort, that builds on its past experience in the design of anti-viral compounds. The program consists of creating Alphabodies targeting the highly conserved Covid-19 fusion machinery, and hence are expected to exhibit less sensitivity to resistance development. Complix believes that its Covid-19 program holds the promise of yielding broadly cross-reactive anti-viral compounds with both prophylactic and therapeutic efficacy against SARS-CoV-2 (the virus causing the current COVID-19 pandemic) as well as future emerging coronavirus variants or mutants.
Complix is led by an experienced management team with a track record of success in the biotech industry and is backed by a syndicate of experienced life sciences investors, through which it has raised over €33 million to date.