QVQ at the GPCR Forum conference

On November 25th, Stephanie Anbuhl will represent QVQ at the 1st edition of the virtual conference of the GPCR Forum. As one of the invited speakers, Stephanie will present her PhD work on single-domain antibodies targeting the class A GPCR CXCR4. The GPCR forum brings together the global community of GPCR networks. QVQ actively participated as a partner in the Marie Curie International Training Network ONCORNET2.0 focused on the GPCRs CXCR4 and ACKR3.

Antibody discovery “one-stop shop” coming to Plus Ultra Utrecht: QVQ to move to new R&D facility on Utrecht Science Park

Kadans Science Partner is happy to welcome a new member to Plus Ultra Utrecht: QVQ. They are the second tenant to sign a lease for the newest life sciences building currently under development on Utrecht Science Park. QVQ is your one-stop shop for affordable high quality single domain antibodies. Their custom projects are tailored to each customer based on a broad range of services, including llama immunization (in collaboration), construction of phage display libraries, custom-tailored selection procedures, production of VHH, plain or equipped with different tags in bacteria and yeast. The QVQ team strives to use its extensive experience to make single domain antibody technology available to the largest possible user base. Close collaborations with top academic research groups and industrial partners ensure … Read more

Stephanie Anbuhl wins poster prize on the annual MCCB KNCV meeting in Lunteren

01 March 2023 On Thursday the 30th of March 2023, our talented early-stage researcher (ESR) within the ITN project ONCORNET2.0, Stephanie Mareike Anbuhl , presented her poster on the reformatting of improved CXCR4-targeting single domain antibodies for biophysical detection methods on the annual meeting of the Medicinal Chemistry & Chemical Biology (MCCB) division of the Royal Netherlands Chemical Society (KNCV) in Lunteren. On her poster, Stephanie illustrated how various immunization and phage display approaches can aid the development of novel CXCR4 binding single domain antibodies against previously untargeted epitopes or conformations and with unprecedented affinity and potency. Also, Stephanie showed examples how such molecules can be developed into higher order multivalent formats for improving potencies even further as well as conjugating … Read more

NanoB2 for assessing binding of ligands to drug targets

14 March 2023 In a collaborative project, researchers at QVQ (Stephanie Mareike Anbuhl and Raimond Heukers), VU Amsterdam (Martine Smit lab) and University of Nottingham (Laura Kilpatrick and Steve Hill) have developed a novel approach using labeled VHH to easily assess and quantify binding of ligands to different drug targets. This technology, named NanoB2 (nanobody-NanoBRET), was published in the journal of Cell Reports Methods. The work, driven by Jelle van den Bor and Nick Bergkamp proves again the high potential of labeled VHH as detection agents. In this new technology, labeled VHH are used for the determination of the binding sites, kinetics and affinities of unlabeled drugs and thereby aid the identification of novel ligands.  Link

Fluorescently tagged nanobodies

QVQ recently contributed to a study that nicely exemplifies directionally fluorescently labelled single domain antibodies as extracellular receptor conformation sensors. This is a result of a smooth ONCORNET2.0 collaboration, in this case led by Laura Kilpatrick and Steve Hill. Link

Candidalysin causes C. albicans-associated haemolysis

25 January 2023 Candida albicans is an opportunistic yeast naturally occurring on our body. This yeast can become pathogenic causing candidiasis. Candidalysin, a peptide toxin secreted by the fungus, is involved in Candida becoming pathogenic the  mediates its translocation through intestinal epithelium causing serious infections. A recent study led by prof. Bernard Hube now shows that Candidalysin is also the driver of C. albicans-associated haemolysis. This process can be fully inhibited by two single domain antibodies. Link

REACT: HIV reactivation and targeted removal by gene editing

26 August 2022 QVQ has intensified its collaboration with the research group of Monique Nijhuis (Translational Virology, UMCU). The REACT project, part of Health Holland TKI-LSH, will investigate possible utilization of our anti-HIV single domain antibody products with mRNA containing lipid nanoparticles (LNPs). We are happy to collaborate with Monique, Single Cell Discoveries and the HIV foundation in this interesting project. QVQ anticipates that the approaches aimed to be developed in this project will have the potential to be widely applicable.

Stop the no. 1 elephant killer!

22 June 2022 Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpes Virus (EEHV) is the most common cause of death among young elephants. To aid the development of new detection agents and therapeutic intervention strategies, QVQ will contribute its lead-development to the crowdfunding project “Stop the no. 1 elephant killer!” lead by Utrecht University professors Victor Rutten and Xander de Haan. Link

VHH-Fc fusion constructs show enhanced potency in blocking HIV

22 June 2022 Congrats to our Target2Cure collaborators, among which PhD student Angela Schriek and under the supervision of Marit van Gils and Steven de Taeye (AUMC) for having published a nice study in Frontiers in Immunology.  Schriek et al. describe the development of QVQ’s anti-HIV-1 single domain antibody products Q1 (J3), Q8 (2E7) and (Q9) 1F10 into various multivalent and Fc-fused constructs. This showed increased binding to the HIV-1 envelope and enhanced neutralization potency. In addition, fusion of an IgG1 domain to J3 improved neutralization potency compared to the J3-bihead and restored Fc-mediated effector functions. Due to their neutralization breadth, potency and ability to induce effector functions, these nanobody-IgG1 constructs may prove to be valuable towards alternative HIV-1 therapies. … Read more

Vimentin for cancer therapy

22 June 2022 Congrats to the team lead by professor Arjan Griffioen for their excellent study on targeting extracellular vimentin for cancer therapy. Link This study also features our anti-vimentin product Q60c, a single domain antibody that suits well for detection and microscopy.

OAinject; in action against Arthritis

30 May 2022 More than 1.5 million Dutch people suffer from osteoarthritis – a rheumatic disease of the joints that causes pain, stiffness and difficulty in moving. Since osteoarthritis is a condition that mainly occurs to elderly people, the number of patients will increase due to aging of the population. Currently there is no adequate treatment. The OAinject program is developing new diagnostic tools to determine the exact type of osteoarthritis someone has, in order to enable tailor-made treatments. In addition, the researchers are working on innovative ways to administer medicines in the joints over a longer period of time, gradually, as well as locally via a depot. In this way, the consortium wants to ensure that rheumatic patients can … Read more