Controlling infectious disease with camelid derived single domain antibody fragments.

Many infections and infection-associated illnesses occur or are precipitated at the mucosal surfaces (gut, nasal/respiratory, urogenital) of the body. We propose that orally delivered targeted and stabilised products that avoid systemic administration could be built around novel camelid heavy chain antibody domains (VHHs), engineered to persist in such environments. These products will target specific pathogenic entities or their receptors. We also propose that such products could be commercialised and that current technological developments, including analysis of the microbiota and mucosal immunology, favour starting this process now. We will bring together existing research and clinical expertise, intellectual property, scale up facilities and commercial know-how to generate a commercial platform to express and stabilise VHHs as components of these products. These antibody domains will initially target components of C.difficile and rotaviruses as drivers and exemplars of the approach. The company will be managed by an experienced team and will benefit from close links with Unilever, BAC (a Unilever company) as well as The Sanger Institute. Oral products as functional foods and in due course as oral therapeutics will be the primary goal and will provide the foundation for the company platform.