Absci and Caltech Join Forces, Bolstered by Major Grant, to Accelerate Affordable HIV Therapeutic Vaccine Development

VANCOUVER, Wash., Aug. 10, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Absci Corporation (Nasdaq: ABSI), a generative AI drug creation company, today announced that leading researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in conjunction with Absci, a leader in AI drug creation, received a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The grant supports the joint effort of Caltech and Absci to discover affordable HIV therapeutic vaccinations, with the goal of making a significant step forward in the fight against the global HIV/AIDS epidemic.

The collaboration between Caltech and Absci, led by Dr. Pamela Bjorkman, brings together cutting-edge research capabilities and advanced technological expertise in structural biology and immunology, protein design, synthetic biology, and generative AI. By leveraging their combined strengths, the teams will work towards the development of a novel HIV therapy that first exposes and then binds to a highly conserved epitope binding site on HIV-1 to potentially both treat and protect against infection from all strains of HIV-1.

More than 40 years after the AIDS pandemic began, there is no vaccine or cure for HIV. Antiretroviral therapies (ARTs) help many people live longer, healthier lives, but they do not completely eliminate the virus and must be taken for life. Additionally, the cost and inaccessibility of these drugs disproportionately affect millions of people from low-income and marginalized communities. This new partnership between Caltech and Absci, facilitated by the generous grant from the Gates Foundation, aims to address this disparity by focusing on the affordability, scalability, and accessibility of HIV therapeutic vaccinations. Combining the latest advances and expertise across their respective fields, Caltech and Absci aim to confront a challenge facing millions worldwide.

"We are thrilled to receive this grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation," said Dr. Stephen Mayo, Bren Professor of Biology and Chemistry and Merkin Institute Professor at Caltech and project co-leader. "We’re committed to making transformative contributions to society through research and innovation, and we are excited to partner with Absci, who has developed a powerful de novo AI antibody platform that is helping to unlock new therapeutic possibilities. This collaboration with Absci allows us to combine our expertise and work towards a common goal of developing affordable HIV therapeutic vaccinations that can save lives and bring hope to millions."