Elstar scientists are working to fulfill the promise of precision immunotherapy for patients by generating antibody therapeutics that engage multiple immune mechanisms against cancer. We discover novel therapeutic candidates using UniTI™, our proprietary in-house platform, to rapidly assemble antibodies with up to four functional domains.

Elstar’s UniTI™ platform

UniTI™ brings true mix-and-match, plug-and-play simplicity to the engineering of complex, multi-functional molecules with four or more functional domains. Bi-functional, tri-functional, and tetra-functional formats can all be seamlessly achieved in a stable molecule with attractive IgG-like structural and pharmacological features.

Elstar protein engineering molecule showing how the various arms of the molecule can have different therapeutics attached to two arms

Bi-functional

Elstar protein engineering molecule showing how the various arms of the molecule can have different therapeutics attached to three arms

Tri-functional

Elstar protein engineering molecule showing how the various arms of the molecule can have different therapeutics attached to all four arms

Tetra-functional

This innovative modular approach to protein engineering reduces the complexity and cost of producing high-quality monoclonal antibody molecules with favorable pharmacokinetic profiles.

Three key features differentiate UniTI™ molecules:

  1. Dual antigen binding, leading to precision targeting of tumor cells
  2. Modular effector mechanisms engaging selected immune cells
  3. Routine, scalable production processes that deliver stable molecules at high yields

 

1. Dual antigen binding

By employing dual targeting of two independent cell surface antigens or epitopes, our molecules are designed to target either the disease cells themselves or the surrounding immune or stromal cells with great precision and reduced systemic toxicity.

Moreover, because our molecules are designed to selectively accumulate in the disease environment rather than distributing throughout the body, they hold promise to be effective at significantly lower doses and with less toxicity compared to current therapies.

2. Modular effector mechanisms

By employing different effector domains, our molecules are able to modulate multiple immunological mechanisms controlling both the adaptive and innate immune systems. A broad array of antibody-based binding components can be combined with a choice of binding domains, cytokines, receptor traps, enzymes, functional ligands, or any other bioactive proteins.

3. Routine, scalable production processes

Although many bi- or multi-specific antibody platforms have been described in the literature, most of these have faced intractable manufacturing challenges when considered for large-scale production. Elstar’s proprietary UniTI™ technology is designed to overcome these challenges as its production processes generate stable molecules at high yields, with simple purification and ease of formulation comparable to that seen with simple monoclonal antibodies.