What's Happening?
Bio-Sourcing, a company based in Liège, and The Tiny Cargo Company from Roanoke have announced a strategic partnership to develop orally delivered monoclonal antibody (mAb) therapies using goat milk-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs), including exosomes.
This collaboration combines Bio-Sourcing's BioMilk® technology, which produces high-quantity, low-cost mAbs in transgenic goat milk, with Tiny Cargo's industrial platform for extracting and loading exosomes with therapeutic payloads. The aim is to enhance the concentration and potency of antibodies for oral delivery, potentially offering benefits such as reduced need for needles and fewer hospital visits. The companies are focusing on developing oral formulations of adalimumab and trastuzumab, targeting conditions like Crohn's disease and HER2+ breast cancer. This partnership marks a significant step towards creating patient-friendly, stable biologics, as there are currently no approved oral mAbs.
Why It's Important?
The collaboration between Bio-Sourcing and Tiny Cargo represents a significant advancement in the field of biologics, particularly in the development of oral mAbs. This innovation could transform patient care by providing more convenient and accessible treatment options, reducing the reliance on injectable therapies. The use of goat milk-derived exosomes as carriers for mAbs is particularly promising due to their natural ability to survive the gastrointestinal tract and deliver antibodies effectively. This could lead to a broader adoption of biologics, making them more accessible and reducing healthcare costs associated with hospital visits and injections. The partnership also highlights the potential for sustainable and scalable manufacturing processes, which could have a lasting impact on the pharmaceutical industry.
What's Next?
The partnership will focus on associating Bio-Sourcing-derived mAbs with goat-milk EVs and evaluating their therapeutic applications. The companies aim to create a new class of biologics that are both patient-friendly and stable. The development of oral presentations for adalimumab and trastuzumab is ongoing, with clinical trials expected to follow. The success of this collaboration could pave the way for further innovations in the field of biologics, potentially leading to new partnerships and advancements in drug delivery technologies.
