Integral Molecular Awarded Grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to Advance COVID-19 Research

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Sep 21, 2020, 07:00 ET

PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Integral Molecular has been awarded $521,723 from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to leverage its technologies in the global fight against COVID-19. Integral Molecular is at the forefront of the fight against COVID-19, with their technologies being used by over 100 laboratories worldwide to advance COVID-19 vaccine and therapeutic development. This grant will enable Integral Molecular and its partners to develop therapeutics and vaccines with broad specificity against SARS-CoV-2 variants.

"As a founding member and leader in the Philadelphia biotechnology community, Integral Molecular brings 20 years of virology experience and unique tools to the fight against COVID-19," said Christopher Molineaux, President and CEO of Life Sciences PA. "We are proud that the science being done in Pennsylvania is having an impact on a global scale."

The scientific team at Integral Molecular has mobilized four of its technology platforms against the virus. This includes using its MPS Antibody Discovery platform to generate broadly reactive antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 and other coronaviruses. SARS-CoV-2 Reporter Virus Particles (RVPs) have been adopted by vaccine companies to safely test for neutralizing immune responses in patients and vaccinees. Integral Molecular's Membrane Protein Array (MPA) is being used to rapidly screen the specificity of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies to advance the most promising candidates, and Shotgun Mutagenesis Epitope Mapping is being used to optimize vaccine and antibody design, so that resulting therapeutics and vaccines recognize emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants.

"Our technologies enable us to predict and test virus mutations that can result in resistance to treatments or vaccines," said Benjamin Doranz, PhD, President and CEO of Integral Molecular. "Containing this pandemic is our immediate goal, but the challenge ahead is to prevent its recurrence in the future."

Integral Molecular is honored to receive grant funding through the COVID-19 Vaccines, Treatments and Therapies (CV-VTT) program, administered by Dennis Davin, Secretary of the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

About Integral Molecular

Integral Molecular (www.integralmolecular.com) is the industry leader in discovering and characterizing therapeutic antibodies against membrane proteins, an important group of drug targets found on the surfaces of cells and viruses. Integral Molecular's technologies have been integrated into the drug discovery pipelines of over 300 biotech and pharmaceutical companies to help discover new therapies for cancer, diabetes, auto-immune disorders and viral threats such as SARS-CoV-2, Ebola, Zika, and dengue virus.

Press Contact:
Integral Molecular, Inc.
Soma Banik, PhD, Director of Communications
215-966-6061
[email protected]
www.integralmolecular.com

SOURCE Integral Molecular