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Philadelphia’s Integral Molecular Opens New Research Center in Response to Upsurge in Antibody Discovery Partnerships

PHILADELPHIA – (PR NEWSWIRE) – Integral Molecular, the industry leader in membrane protein solutions, has expanded its research facility to a second location to accommodate an upsurge in MPS Antibody Discovery partnerships and the progression of its internal therapeutic antibody pipeline. The new state-of-the-art laboratory space houses specialized equipment including high-throughput robotics and microfluidic biosensors to support the isolation of therapeutic antibodies.

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney was present yesterday at the opening of Integral Molecular’s new facility to represent the city’s commitment to biotechnology and innovation. “We are thrilled to see Integral Molecular’s expansion and continued success in Philadelphia,” said Mayor Kenney. “Integral Molecular’s growth represents the extraordinary innovation, job creation, and retention of talent in the vibrant and flourishing University City biotechnology hub.”

Integral Molecular’s second research facility more than doubles its footprint in Philadelphia’s uCity Square. University City Science Center Senior Vice President Curt Hess calls Integral Molecular “A poster-child success story of the Science Center.” He continues, “We are proud to have supported Integral Molecular from its inception as a two-person company in our incubator through major milestones like its recent expansion. It is interesting to note that Integral Molecular now occupies the laboratory space where Centocor (now part of Janssen Biotech) originated and will carry on the legacy of the successes built in our community.”

Integral Molecular’s success is based on its innovative approaches in the field of antibody discovery against membrane protein targets. “Our technologies have been recognized as providing an unprecedented success rate of over 95%, generating antibodies against the most difficult targets,” said Benjamin Doranz, President of Integral Molecular. In the past year, Integral Molecular has entered research partnerships with numerous companies, including Merus N.V., Ono Pharmaceutical, and Daiichi Sankyo, who are leveraging the MPS Antibody Discovery Platform to obtain antibodies against hard to treat diseases.

About Integral Molecular

Integral Molecular (www.integralmolecular.com) is the industry leader in membrane protein solutions, with a pipeline of therapeutic antibodies against GPCRs, ion channels, transporters, and immuno-oncology targets. Built on the company’s extensive experience optimizing membrane proteins, Integral Molecular’s technology suite enables the isolation, characterization, and engineering of MAbs against otherwise intractable targets. The company currently has therapeutic programs focused on cancer, pain, immunity, and metabolic diseases.

Contact:
Integral Molecular, Inc.
Soma Banik
Director of Scientific Communications
215-966-6061
info@integralmolecular.com

Integral Molecular Selected as the First Industry Partner in The Wistar Institute’s Biomedical Research Technician Apprenticeship

PHILADELPHIA ¬ Sept. 26, 2019 — Integral Molecular, Inc. has been selected by The Wistar Institute, a global leader in cancer, immunology and infectious disease research as the first industry partner for its Biomedical Research Technician (BRT) Apprenticeship. This relationship continues Integral Molecular’s dedication to community partnership, economic development, and job creation in Philadelphia.

Wistar’s BRT Apprenticeship, the first-ever registered, nontraditional apprenticeship program for biomedical research ratified by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry, offers a pathway to fill in-demand jobs within Philadelphia’s fast-growing biotechnology industry. This extends Wistar’s Biomedical Technician Training Program, which helps students from the Community College of Philadelphia gain valuable hands-on laboratory experience and jobs in the life sciences.

“For the past two years, Wistar’s BRT Apprenticeship has fostered the next generation of biomedical researchers in Philadelphia by creating a career pathway,” said William Wunner, Ph.D., director of Academic Affairs and director of Outreach Education and Technology Training at Wistar. “With its focus on cutting-edge antibody technologies, Integral Molecular is the ideal setting for students to acquire marketable skills in the biotechnology industry.”

Wistar’s non-traditional BRT Apprenticeship is supported by Philadelphia Works, Inc., the city’s Workforce Development Board, under the governance of the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry. Learn more: wistar.org/education-training

About Integral Molecular
Integral Molecular is the industry leader in membrane protein antibody discovery, with a pipeline of therapeutic antibodies against GPCRs, ion channels, transporters, and immuno-oncology targets. Built on the company’s extensive experience optimizing membrane proteins, this platform enables the isolation, characterization, and engineering of MAbs against otherwise intractable targets. Integral Molecular discovers antibodies for partners in parallel with independent work developing antibodies for licensing. The company currently has therapeutic programs focused on cancer, pain, immunity, and metabolic disorders.

About The Wistar Institute
The Wistar Institute is an international leader in biomedical research with special expertise in cancer and infectious disease research and vaccine development. Founded in 1892 as the first independent nonprofit biomedical research institute in the United States, Wistar has held the prestigious Cancer Center designation from the National Cancer Institute since 1972. The Institute works actively to ensure that research advances move from the laboratory to the clinic as quickly as possible. wistar.org.

Contacts:
Integral Molecular, Inc.
Benjamin Doranz
President & CEO
215-966-6061
info@integralmolecular.com

The Wistar Institute
Darien Sutton
Media Relations and Communications Manager
215-898-3988

Integral Molecular and Penn Medicine Collaborate on Autoimmune Encephalitis Target Discovery

Integral Molecular is announcing a new collaboration with the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn). Integral Molecular and Penn will work together toward discovering new targets that may cause, diagnose, and treat autoimmune encephalitis—a group of conditions that occur when the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks healthy brain cells, causing brain inflammation. Those who suffer from autoimmune encephalitis have symptoms such as short-term memory loss, unexplained seizures, and other psychiatric and neurological symptoms. Integral Molecular will use its Membrane Proteome Array (MPA) platform to identify the targets of autoantibodies derived from patients afflicted with this autoimmune disorder.

“Diagnosing autoimmune disorders is very difficult if we don’t know the targets,” added Benjamin Doranz, President and CEO of Integral Molecular. “Using our breakthrough MPA platform, we have already identified new targets in the immuno-oncology, infectious, and neurodegenerative disease fields, so we expect that this collaboration can have a significant impact in the autoimmunity field for patients.”

The MPA platform contains 5,300 different human membrane proteins, nearly the entire human membrane proteome, each individually expressed in live human cells. In this project, each protein will be screened for antibody binding using unfixed cells and flow cytometry, enabling high-sensitivity detection for discovering new targets that cause autoimmune encephalitis.

“These rare autoimmune disorders are extremely complicated and hard to understand, which makes it a challenge to treat patients with these disorders,” said Eric Lancaster, MD, PhD, an assistant professor of Neurology and director of the Center for Autoimmune Neurology at Penn. “Having a comprehensive understanding of what protein targets underly these devastating disorders, would be valuable and could help clinicians to find more effective diagnostics and therapies.”

Integral Molecular Presents Data on Monoclonal Antibodies (MAbs) Against SLC2A4 (GLUT4), a Critical Target for Diabetes

PHILADELPHIA -(PR NEWSWIRE)- Integral Molecular, the industry leader in discovering antibodies against multipass membrane proteins, recently presented data at the American Diabetes Association’s Annual Meeting on its newly discovered, state-specific antibodies targeting SLC2A4 (GLUT4), a complex glucose transporter. These rare antibodies were discovered using Integral Molecular’s MPS Antibody Discovery platform.

“The SLC2A4 antibodies generated by our MPS Antibody Discovery platform are unique reagents to study glucose uptake in response to insulin,” said Ross Chambers, Vice President of Antibody Discovery. “These results provide additional validation that our platform is optimized to discover high value antibodies for transporters, GPCRs, and other complex membrane proteins.”

In a paper published last year (Tucker et al., May 2018, PNAS), Integral Molecular revealed the discovery of the first functional MAbs against SLC2A4, an insulin-responsive 12-TM transporter involved in diabetes. Functional studies in combination with Shotgun Mutagenesis Epitope Mapping showed MAbs LM043 and LM048 to be state-specific, selectively binding only certain active forms of the SLC2A4 transporter.

Integral Molecular’s MPS Antibody Discovery platform encompasses a comprehensive technology suite that overcomes the obstacles of working with highly conserved and structurally complex membrane protein targets, such as SLC2A4. This suite includes native antigen presentation on Lipoparticles, immunization of divergent species, and the use of B-cell cloning to recover rare antibodies. Integral Molecular is currently isolating MAbs against dozens of membrane protein targets as part of its licensing and discovery partnerships.

About Integral Molecular
Integral Molecular is the industry leader in membrane protein antibody discovery, with a pipeline of therapeutic antibodies against GPCRs, ion channels, transporters, and immuno-oncology targets. Built on the company’s extensive experience optimizing membrane proteins, Integral Molecular’s technology suite enables the isolation, characterization, and engineering of MAbs against otherwise intractable targets. The company currently has therapeutic programs focused on cancer, pain, immunity, and metabolic disorders.

Contact:
Integral Molecular, Inc.
Ross Chambers, PhD, VP of Antibody Discovery
215-966-6061
info@integralmolecular.com
www.integralmolecular.com

Integral Molecular Reaches Milestone in Immuno-Oncology Target Discovery Collaboration with Daiichi Sankyo

PHILADELPHIA -(PR Newswire)- Integral Molecular, the industry leader in discovering antibodies against multipass membrane proteins, today announced that it has successfully reached the first milestone in its collaboration with Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd. to discover new immuno-oncology (I-O) therapeutic targets. Integral Molecular utilized its Membrane Proteome Array (MPA) platform to find novel protein targets that can regulate the human immune system’s ability to recognize and destroy cancer cells. Daiichi Sankyo will use the newly identified targets to develop new therapeutics.

“We have enjoyed working with Daiichi Sankyo and we are very pleased to reach our first milestone,” said Ben Doranz, President and CEO of Integral Molecular. “The success of our collaboration highlights the powerful target discovery capabilities of our MPA platform.”

Integral Molecular has previously identified multiple novel therapeutic targets using its MPA platform. The platform is centered around an array of 5,300 human membrane proteins expressed in live, unfixed cells for binding and functional assays. Integral Molecular currently has target discovery programs in I-O, infectious disease, and neurodegeneration.

About Integral Molecular
Integral Molecular is the industry leader in membrane protein antibody discovery, with a pipeline of therapeutic antibodies against GPCRs, ion channels, transporters, and immuno-oncology targets. Built on the company’s extensive experience optimizing membrane proteins, Integral Molecular’s technology suite enables the isolation, characterization, and engineering of MAbs against otherwise intractable targets. The company currently has therapeutic programs focused on cancer, pain, immunity, and metabolic disorders.

Contact:
Integral Molecular, Inc.
Ben Doranz, PhD, MBA, President & CEO
215-966-6061
info@integralmolecular.com
www.integralmolecular.com

Integral Molecular Doubles Antibody Characterization Capacity Within Philadelphia’s Science Center

PHILADELPHIA-(PR NEWSWIRE)-Integral Molecular, the industry leader in membrane protein solutions, today announced the expansion of its two proprietary antibody characterization platforms, Shotgun Mutagenesis Epitope Mapping and the Membrane Proteome Array (MPA). Integral Molecular recently acquired office and laboratory space, which enabled the company to double its antibody characterization capabilities.
“Businesses like Integral Molecular are creating jobs and contributing to the vibrancy of Philadelphia’s biosector. We’re thrilled that Integral Molecular has chosen to start, grow, and expand right here at uCity Square,” says Steve Zarrilli, President & CEO of University City Science Center. “Integral Molecular’s trajectory exemplifies the services and support offered by the Science Center and facilities available at uCity Square.”
The expansion is being driven by recent MPA Target Discovery partnerships and a surge of Shotgun Mutagenesis Epitope Mapping projects, prompting the need for additional space and personnel.
“Integral Molecular is in an exciting growth phase where we’re expanding our teams, launching new products, and reaching new markets,” says Ben Doranz, President and CEO of Integral Molecular. “To achieve these goals, we’re dedicating additional resources to antibody characterization, a key component of our suite of membrane protein solutions.”

About Integral Molecular
Integral Molecular (www.integralmolecular.com) is the industry leader in membrane protein solutions, with a pipeline of therapeutic antibodies against GPCRs, ion channels, transporters, and immuno-oncology targets. Built on the company’s extensive experience optimizing membrane proteins, Integral Molecular’s technology suite enables the isolation, characterization, and engineering of MAbs against otherwise intractable targets. The company currently has therapeutic programs focused on cancer, pain, immunity, and metabolic diseases.

Contact
Integral Molecular, Inc.
Ben Doranz, PhD, MBA, President and CEO
215-966-6061
info@integralmolecular.com
www.integralmolecular.com

Integral Molecular to Present Claudin 6 MAbs, a Therapeutic Asset for Solid Tumors, at Annual AACR Conference

PHILADELPHIA–Integral Molecular, the industry leader in discovering antibodies against multipass membrane proteins, will showcase updated data on its discovery of highly specific Claudin 6 MAbs at the 2019 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) conference in Atlanta on Monday, April 1. Claudin 6 is an established membrane protein target expressed in multiple cancers, including ovarian and gastric tumors, and absent from healthy adult tissues. Until now, the structural complexity of Claudin 6 and its similarity to proteins expressed on healthy tissue have limited its exploitation for targeted oncology therapies.
“There is a strong need for therapeutic monoclonal antibodies that can provide more specific and less toxic treatments for ovarian cancer,” said Ross Chambers, VP of Antibody Discovery. “Our lead antibody, isolated using our MPS Antibody Discovery platform, shows best-in-class Claudin 6 specificity. We are currently looking for partners to further develop these exciting assets.”
Integral Molecular’s MPS Antibody Discovery platform encompasses a comprehensive technology suite that overcomes the obstacles of working with highly conserved and structurally complex membrane protein targets, like Claudin 6. This suite includes antigen engineering and presentation on Lipoparticles, immunization of divergent species, and the use of B-cell cloning to recover rare antibodies. Integral Molecular is currently isolating MAbs against dozens of membrane protein targets and welcomes antibody licensing opportunities and discovery partnerships.

About Integral Molecular
Integral Molecular is the industry leader in discovering antibodies against multipass membrane proteins, with a pipeline of therapeutic antibodies against GPCRs, ion channels, transporters, and immuno-oncology targets. Built on the company’s extensive experience optimizing membrane proteins, Integral Molecular’s technology suite enables the isolation, characterization, and engineering of MAbs against otherwise intractable targets. The company currently has therapeutic programs focused on cancer, pain, immunity, and metabolic diseases.

Contact
Integral Molecular, Inc.
Ross Chambers, PhD, VP of Antibody Discovery
215-966-6061
info@integralmolecular.com
staging.integralmolecular.com