Visterra, A*STAR to develop monoclonal antibody VIS513 to treat dengue

Designed using Visterra’s proprietary technology, VIS513 is a humanized monoclonal antibody that is designed to bind and potently neutralize all four serotypes of dengue virus.

Preclinical trials of VIS513 in animal models have showed a rapid reduction in viral titers after a single systemic administration, which supports its potential use as a single administration treatment for dengue virus infection.

The deal will see Visterra’s expertise in therapeutic antibodies for challenging infectious diseases combined with D3’s proficiency in bringing early stage discoveries into clinical development.

Both the parties will also work together with infectious disease experts at Duke-National University of Singapore (Duke-NUS) to generate additional data necessary to begin clinical trials of VIS513.

Following completion of these activities, the two entities will advance VIS513 through proof-of-concept clinical trials in humans, which will be conducted in Singapore.

As part of the collaboration agreement, Visterra retains all rights to develop and commercialize VIS513 globally.

D3 CEO and A*STAR’s Experimental Therapeutics Centre (ETC) professor Alex Matter said: "This collaboration illustrates D3’s goal of bringing innovative early-stage research that addresses unmet medical needs in Singapore to proof-of-concept clinical trials in humans.

"We are encouraged by VIS513’s preclinical data, which demonstrate its potential to broadly neutralize all four dengue virus serotypes, as there is currently no specific treatment for dengue, and prevention depends solely on limiting or eradicating mosquitoes that transmit the virus."