THERAPEUTIC APPROACH
The Strength of Arenaviruses as Therapeutics
Arenaviruses are negative-sense, single-stranded RNA viruses that are members of the family Arenaviridae and are genetically very diverse due to specific adaptations to their respective host. The name of this virus family derives from the Latin “arena” for “sand” due to the grainy appearance of particles inside the virus when viewed in cross-section.
One of the best studied arenaviruses classified under the category mammarenavirus is the lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV), which normally infects rodents and has four specific properties making it an ideal candidate to aim a patient’s immune system against cancer cells.
Immunestimulation to fight tumor cells
Specific Properties of LCMV
MOST POTENT IMMUNE ACTIVATOR IN MOUSE MODELS
HIGH RATE OF REPLICATION BUT DOES NOT DESTROY ITS HOST CELLS
PROLONGED PERSISTENCE IN HOST CELLS SHOWN IN MICE
SPECIFIC REPLICATION IN TUMOR AND ANTIGEN-PRESENTING CELLS
Combined, these unique features of LCMV and possibly other arenaviruses within the mammarenavirus classification, make them ideal candidates for a new treatment modality that induces a maximal immune response towards tumor cells including distant metastases.
Abalos Therapeutics
Our Scientific Foundation
Abalos Therapeutics was founded to translate the innovative research of immunology and virology experts Karl Lang and Philipp Lang into novel anti-cancer therapies. They identified a specific set of mammarenaviruses that preferentially infect and proliferate in cancer cells, which results in a very strong and targeted immune response against the cancer. These findings provided a novel strategy to enable a precise immune response and activate all relevant immune cell types against primary tumors and metastases.