VIB Corp.

XVR013m, a broadly neutralizing VHH-FC antibody consistently shows exceptional neutralization potency across both SARS-CoV-2 pre-Omicron and Omicron variantsGHENT, Belgium, Oct. 17, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ExeVir Bio, a biotech company developing robust heavy chain-only antibody therapies for broad protection against infectious diseases, is pleased to announce its participation in ID Week 2024, where it will present a poster on XVR013m, a potent VHH-FC antibody for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. This year’s conference will be held in Los Angeles from October 16-19, 2024. Poster Title: XVR013m, a broadly neutralizing VHH-FC antibody targeting the S2 subunit of SARS-CoV-2 with high potency.Session: Z4: COVID-19: TreatmentDate & Time: Saturday October 19, 2024; 12:15 PM - 1:30 PM Pacific TimePresenting Author: F. Herschke, Head of Non-clinical DevelopmentVirtual Link/Access: P-2023 The poster will highlight the uniqueness of XVR013m, providing key findings relevant to the protection of the most vulnerable against COVID-19. ExeVir's XVR013m, COVID-19 program focuses on addressing the high unmet medical need to protect and treat immunocompromised and elderly individuals that account for respectively 4% and 10% of the global population. Despite the availability of effective vaccines, the immunocompromised and elderly remain at a higher risk for severe COVID-19 as they are often unable to elicit an adequate immune response to vaccination and therefore would benefit greatly from additional protection in the form of antibody therapeutics. ExeVir is currently making preparations to start the clinical development of the variant-proof XVR013m as a solution for the prevention of COVID-19 in the target populations of immunocompromised and elderly individuals. Dr Jeanne Bolger, CEO of ExeVir and Chair of the Board of Directors, said: “COVID-19 is here to stay and is now clearly established as the most important respiratory infectious disease causing substantially more hospitalizations and deaths compared to influenza and RSV. Unlike flu and RSV, COVID-19 can cause long-term adverse health sequelae in the form of Long COVID, with significant economic and societal burden. It is imperative that we continue to invest in interventions to protect individuals from this disease. We are excited to present our latest findings on XVR013m, an S2 binder aiming to provide consistent and long-lasting protection for the most vulnerable at this year’s ID Week. This presentation underscores our commitment to addressing critical public health challenges and improving outcomes for those most at risk." References 1. Impact of COVID-19 on immunocompromised populations during the Omicron era: insights from the observational population-based INFORM study, Evans et al, The Lancet, 2023.https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanepe/article/PIIS2666-7762%2823%2900166-7/fulltext. 2. World population above 65 years old: Population ages 65 and above, total | Data (worldbank.org) For more information contact: ExeVir BioVeronique Vandevoorde vvandevoorde@exevir.com About ExeVir Bio ExeVir Bio is a clinical stage biotechnology company developing heavy-chain only antibody therapies focusing on infectious diseases. The company is harnessing its llama-derived antibody (VHH) technology platform to generate multi-specific antibodies for prophylaxis and treatment of infectious diseases. ExeVir’s initial focus is on prevention of COVID-19 for the immunocompromised patient population, including active chemotherapy, immunosuppressive drugs, solid organ transplantation, hematological malignancies, AIDS patients, and for the elderly, where there remains a high unmet need due to the limitations of current vaccines and therapeutic approaches. In addition, ExeVir Bio is actively developing its pipeline to target dengue and bolster pandemic preparedness, addressing critical global health challenges with innovative VHH antibody therapies. ExeVir has demonstrated it can progress its candidates from research to the clinic in under one year, execute early clinical development, and conduct scale-up manufacturing. Leveraging this extensive experience, its XVR013m asset is being developed to start a First in Human clinical trial in 2025. VHHs are smaller in size than whole antibodies, giving them access to hidden epitopes that traditional monoclonal antibodies are unable to reach with potential for deeper tissue penetration and simpler, more cost-effective manufacturing. VHHs can be linked together like building blocks into single multi-specific molecules to tackle different epitopes or act through different mechanisms of action at once, to address more complex and co-evolving infectious diseases. ExeVir is a spin-out of VIB, the leading Belgium-based life sciences research institute. It is backed by strong investors including Fund+, which led the series A of EUR 42 million, together with an international consortium including UCB Ventures, SFPIM, V-Bio Ventures, VIB, Wallonie Entreprendre, Noshaq, Vives IUF and SambrInvest. ExeVir has received support from VLAIO, the SPW-Recherche and the European Union, leading to a total of EUR 18 million in non-dilutive funding. Find out more on ExeVir’s LinkedIn or on ExeVir’s website

Detailing the intricate process of early embryogenesis, this year's winning video provides insights into fundamental biological processes with far-reaching implications. MELVILLE, N.Y., Sept. 17, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Nikon Instruments Inc. today unveiled the winners of its 14th annual Nikon Small World in Motion Video Competition, an integral component of the Nikon Small World competition, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. The first-place prize was awarded to Dr. Bruno Vellutini of the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics for his video of mitotic waves in the embryo of a fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster). The video reveals the dynamic processes of fly embryogenesis, crucial for uncovering genetic pathways that mirror those in humans and other mammals, with applications for cancer research, birth defects, and potential treatment development. Continue Reading Nikon Small World in Motion Video Competition (PRNewsfoto/Nikon Instruments Inc.) As a zoologist with a background in evolutionary and developmental biology, Dr. Vellutini is dedicated to advancing our understanding of how embryos build themselves from a single cell—a process fundamental to all animal life. His research, while focused on evolutionary questions, has broader implications for medical science, specifically rare neurological disorders and limb malformations in humans. "The beauty of basic research in biology," says Dr. Vellutini, "is that what we learn in one organism is often applicable to others and has the potential to contribute to the understanding of human diseases." Dr. Vellutini's winning video captures the rhythmic waves of division and tissue movements critical to proper embryonic formation in fruit flies. These processes are linked to mechanisms that can go awry, leading to the development of cancer and other diseases. For instance, during normal development, cells must organize precisely within tissues, a process maintained by cell-cell communication and mechanical feedback. Disruptions in these processes, such as the epithelial-mesenchymal transition—a process normal in embryogenesis but problematic when occurring unexpectedly—are known to contribute to the invasiveness of lung, liver, and breast cancer. Dr. Vellutini adds depth to his video, saying, "Fruit fly embryos are in our homes, developing in our kitchens and our trash bins, are undergoing the same processes as shown in the video. I believe the video is particularly impactful because it shows us how these fascinating cellular and tissue dynamics are happening every day, all around us—even in the most mundane living beings." To capture this dynamic development, Dr. Vellutini used light sheet microscopy, a technique that allows for gentle imaging of live embryos while minimizing potential damage. "The biggest challenges I encountered were in mounting the embryos correctly and optimizing imaging conditions to capture clear, high-quality footage over an extended period. Balancing light exposure to avoid harming the samples was crucial," Dr. Vellutini explained. "For the last 50 years, Nikon Small World has been a leading showcase of cutting-edge microscopy and artistic imaging. Since its inception in 2011, Small World in Motion has been a vital component of this gallery," said Eric Flem, Senior Manager, Communications and CRM at Nikon Instruments. "As we enter a new era of the competition, we remain committed to highlighting the boundaries of innovation in scientific imaging. Nikon's dedication to advancing science and art is especially evident in Dr. Vellutini's winning entry, which stands as a testament to this legacy, capturing a mesmerizing movement within the microscopic world that helps deepen our understanding of a process that shapes life itself." Second place was awarded to Jay McClellan for his video of water droplets evaporating from the wing scales of a peacock butterfly (Aglais io). The final product used image stacking and a custom CNC motion control system to handle evaporating droplets and ensure smooth, rapid image capture. Third place was awarded to Dr. Jiaxing Li for his video of an oligodendrocyte precursor cell in the spinal cord of a zebrafish. The 2024 judging panel included: Adrian Coakley, Director of Photography at National Geographic Books Michelle S. Itano, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Cell Biology and Physiology and Director of the Neuroscience Microscopy Core at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Emily Petersen, Photography Managing Editor at Science Magazine Clare Waterman, Ph.D., Cell Biologist and Member of the National Academy of Sciences Jennifer C. Waters, Ph.D., Director of the Core for Imaging Technology & Education at Harvard Medical School Samantha Yammine, Ph.D., Neuroscientist and Science Communicator For additional information, please visit , or follow the conversation on Facebook, X @NikonSmallWorld, and Instagram @NikonInstruments. NIKON SMALL WORLD IN MOTION WINNERS 1st Place Dr. Bruno Vellutini Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics Dresden, Saxony, Germany Mitotic waves in the embryo of a fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) Light Sheet 20X (Objective Lens Magnification) 2nd Place Jay McClellan Saranac, Michigan, USA Water droplets evaporating from the wing scales of a peacock butterfly (Aglais io) Image Stacking, Timelapse 5X (Objective Lens Magnification) 3rd Place Dr. Jiaxing Li Portland, Oregon, USA An oligodendrocyte precursor cell in the spinal cord of a zebrafish Confocal 20X (Objective Lens Magnification) 4th Place Dr. Ignasi Vélez Ceron, Dr. Francesc Sagués & Dr. Jordi Ignés-Mullol University of Barcelona Department of Materials Science and Physical Chemistry Barcelona, Spain Friction transition in a microtubule-based active liquid crystal Fluorescence 20X (Objective Lens Magnification) 5th Place Quinten Geldhof Winthrop, Massachusetts, USA A baby tardigrade riding a nematode Darkfield 10X (Objective Lens Magnification) HONORABLE MENTIONS Richard J. Albrecht Altenstadt, Bavaria, Germany Molting mayfly Brightfield 2X (Objective Lens Magnification) Thomas Barlow & Connor Gibbons Columbia University Department of Neurobiology and Behavior New York, New York, USA Spontaneous activity of pigment-filled chromatophores in the skin of the dwarf cuttlefish (Sepia bandensis) Reflected Light 20X (Objective Lens Magnification) Thomas Barlow & Connor Gibbons Columbia University Department of Neurobiology and Behavior New York, New York, USA Movement and chromatophore activity in a developing octopus embryo (Octopus hummelincki) Darkfield, Stereomicroscopy 8X (Objective Lens Magnification) Dr. Ailen Cervino Baylor College of Medicine Center for Precision Environmental Health (CPEH) Houston, Texas, USA Frog (Xenopus laevis) dorsal mesoderm cells Confocal 40X (Objective Lens Magnification) Dr. Luis Carlos Cesteros Durango, Bizkaia, Spain Algae (Synura uvella) Differential Interference Contrast (DIC) 10X, 20X and 40X (Objective Lens Magnifications) Nikky Corthout & Dr. Francesca Rizzollo VIB Center for Brain and Disease Research Leuven, Vlaams-Brabant, Belgium Melanoma cells showing mitochondria and lysosome dynamics Confocal, Fluorescence 60X (Objective Lens Magnification) Samantha Fallacaro, Dr. Apratim Mukherjee & Puttachai Ratchasanmuang University of Pennsylvania Department of Cell and Developmental Biology Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA Three views of a fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster): adult, embryo, and histones tagged with GFP marking nuclei Brightfield, Fluorescence, and Light Sheet 10X-100X (Objective Lens Magnification) Dr. KrassiMira A. Garbett & Richard Sando Vanderbilt University Department of Pharmacology Nashville, Tennessee, USA Live mouse neurons with fluorescently labeled points of connection (7 hour time-lapse) Confocal 60X (Objective Lens Magnification) Quinten Geldhof Winthrop, Massachusetts, USA Mosquito larva feeding Darkfield 4X (Objective Lens Magnification) Dr. Saikat Ghosh National Institutes of Health NICHD Bethesda, Maryland, USA Dynamic trafficking of mitochondria and lysosomes along microtubule tracks of neuronal highways Confocal 63X (Objective Lens Magnification) Cora A. Harris Charlotte, North Carolina, USA Crystallization of magnesium sulfate (MgSO4) salt crystals Polarized Light 10X (Objective Lens Magnification) Bre Hewitt Drexel University Department of Biology Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA Human fibroblast climbing a 3D 'rope' of extracellular matrix (gray) by squeezing the nucleus (cyan) through tight spaces. Actin cytoskeleton (orange). Confocal, Fluorescence 60X (Objective Lens Magnification) Dr. Patrick Colin Hickey NIPHT LIMITED Edinburgh, Midlothian, United Kingdom Dynamics of hyphal growth, cytoplasmic flow and movement of nuclei within a colony of filamentous fungus (Neurospora crassa). Time elapsed: 1.5 hours Confocal 40X (Objective Lens Magnification) Dr. Alvaro Migotto Centro de Biologia Marinha São Sebastião, São Paulo, Brazil Parchment worm larva eating a copepod Darkfield 4X (Objective Lens Magnification) Dr. Andrew Moore Howard Hughes Medical Institute Janelia Research Campus Ashburn, Virginia, USA Crawling tissue culture cell Confocal 63X (Objective Lens Magnification) Dr. Andrew Moore Howard Hughes Medical Institute Janelia Research Campus Ashburn, Virginia, USA Time-lapse of cultured cells crawling and exploring Confocal 63X (Objective Lens Magnification) Rogelio Moreno Panama, Panama Sea angel (Pterapod sp.) Darkfield 4X (Objective Lens Magnification) Irina Petrova Adamatzky University of the West of England Bristol College of Arts, Technology and Environment Bristol, Somerset, United Kingdom Malaysian flower mantis (Creobroter urbanus) Reflected Light 5X (Objective Lens Magnification) Benedikt Pleyer Kirchberg, Bavaria, Germany White blood cells in menstrual blood consuming uterus mucosa cells Differential Interference Contrast (DIC) 60X (Objective Lens Magnification) Benedikt Pleyer Kirchberg, Bavaria, Germany Chemical reactions within a single drop of water Darkfield 25X - 50X (Objective Lens Magnification) Catherine Porter, Aria Huang, Hunter Nichols & Dr. Alex Hughes University of Pennsylvania Department of Bioengineering Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA Time-lapse of canine kidney cells, precisely arranged by photopatterned DNA tethers, creating a replica of Vermeer's painting, "Girl with a Pearl Earring" Confocal, Fluorescence 4x (Objective Lens Magnification) Jan Rosenboom Rostock, Mecklenburg Vorpommern, Germany Ignition of an arc lighter Darkfield, Reflected Light 4X (Objective Lens Magnification) Jennifer Silverman Vanderbilt University Cell & Developmental Biology Nashville, Tennessee, USA Two HeLa cells expressing an actin binding protein generate large numbers of dynamic protrusions, which are evident in the space between the cells Confocal 100X (Objective Lens Magnification) Sebastian Sparenga McCrone Research Institute Chicago, Illinois, USA Dinitronaphthalene (a chemical compound) recrystallizing upon cooling Polarized Light 4X (Objective Lens Magnification) Sanjay Sunil Kumar & Steven Reger Schulte-Merker Lab, Institute for Cardiovascular Organogenesis and Regeneration University Hospital, Muenster, Germany Muenster, NRW, Germany Blood endothelial cells forming a lumen during zebrafish development Confocal 63X (Objective Lens Magnification) Dr. Wim van Egmond Micropolitan Museum Berkel en Rodenrijs, Zuid Holland, Netherlands Starfish gastrula, escaping from the egg Darkfield, Differential Interference Contrast (DIC) 16X (Objective Lens Magnification) Dr. Daniel Wehner & Nora John Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light Department of Biological Optomechanics Erlangen, Bavaria, Germany Immune response (neutrophils, cyan; macrophages, orange) to spinal cord injury in zebrafish Confocal 10X (Objective Lens Magnification) Dr. Cara Winter Duke University Department of Biology Durham, North Carolina, USA 17-hour time-lapse of a growing thale cress (Arabidopsis thaliana) root showing induction of a gene that controls stem cell division, SHR (green), nuclei (red) Confocal 40X (Objective Lens Magnification) Chew Yen Fook Woodend, Waimakiriri, New Zealand Oligochaete worm (Chaetogaster sp.) feeding on a water flea (Chydrorus sp.) Darkfield, Polarized Light 4X (Objective Lens Magnification) Wenting Zhu Beauty of Science Hefei, Anhui Province, China Electrodeposition of silver on copper Reflected Light, Stereomicroscopy 2.5X (Objective Lens Magnification) Wenting Zhu Beauty of Science Hefei, Anhui Province, China Convection cells in a paint-alcohol mixture Reflected Light, Stereomicroscopy 5X (Objective Lens Magnification) About Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition The Nikon Small World Competition is open to anyone with an interest in photography or video. Participants may upload digital images and videos directly at . For additional information, contact Nikon Small World, Nikon Instruments Inc., 1300 Walt Whitman Road, Melville, NY 11747, USA, or phone (631) 547-8569. Entry forms for Nikon's 2025 Small World and Small World in Motion Competitions are available at . About Nikon Instruments Inc. Nikon Instruments Inc. is the US microscopy arm of Nikon Healthcare, a world leader in the development and manufacturing of optical, digital imaging technology and software for biomedical applications. For more information, please visit or contact us at 1-800-52-NIKON. SOURCE Nikon Instruments Inc. WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM? 440k+ Newsrooms & Influencers 9k+ Digital Media Outlets 270k+ Journalists Opted In GET STARTED

LEUVEN, Belgium and STRASBOURG, France and PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 29, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Flamingo Therapeutics ("Flamingo") announced today its participation in the following upcoming investor conferences: Wells Fargo Annual Healthcare Conference, September 4-6, 2024, Boston, MA PA Life Sciences Future Conference, September 18-19, 2024, Philadelphia, PA 8th Annual Chardan Genetic Medicines Conference, September 30-October 1, 2024, NY 4th Annual Needham Private Biotech Company Virtual 1x1 Forum, October 8-9, 2024 During these events, Company management will participate in one-on-one meetings with investors. About Flamingo Therapeutics Flamingo is pioneering RNA-targeted therapies for oncology with a clinical-stage pipeline targeting undruggable transcription factors and long non-coding RNAs. Flamingo has an alliance with Ionis Pharmaceuticals and is supported by well-known biotechnology investors including Abrdn (formerly funds managed by Tekla Capital Management LLC), Andera Partners, Bpifrance Large Venture, Bpifrance through its FABS and Fonds Biothérapies Innovantes et Maladies Rares funds, Eurazeo - Kurma Partners, Perceptive Advisors, PMV, Pontifax, Sphera, and VIB. Flamingo has initiated a Phase II trial 'PEMDA-HN' evaluating the STAT3 targeting agent danvatirsen, in combination with pembrolizumab, in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). A Phase I investigator initiated trial study has also been initiated evaluating danvatirsen as a monotherapy and in combination with venetoclax in AML/MDS patients. For more information on Flamingo, please visit: PEMDA-HN (head and neck cancer) on clinicaltrials.gov: Danvatirsen monotherapy followed by combination with venetoclax in relapsed/ refractory AML and MDS on clincaltrials.gov: Please engage with us on LinkedIn: . Flamingo Media and Investor Contact: Amy Conrad Juniper Point (858) 366-3243 [email protected] SOURCE Flamingo Therapeutics