Mucommune and UNC develops ultra-potent contraceptive antibodies that rapidly trap sperm in mucus – Shrestha et al., Science Translational Medicine
August 11, 2021
The research team at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill led by Sam Lai, Professor of Pharmacoengineering & Molecular Pharmaceutics at UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy and Founder of Mucommune, report the development of a new class of highly potent, sperm-binding monoclonal antibodies designed for non-hormonal contraception. By engineering conventional IgG antibodies to carry additional sperm-binding arms, the team created multivalent antibodies capable of rapidly agglutinating sperm while also trapping individual sperm in mucus. The most potent 10-Fab antibody reduced progressively motile sperm by more than 99.9% in a sheep vaginal model at a dose of just 33 micrograms. Published in Science Translational Medicine, the findings firmly established highly multivalent anti-sperm antibodies as a promising novel biologics approach to non-hormonal contraception, and serve as the scientific foundation for Mucommune’s ongoing efforts to advance antibody-based non-hormonal contraceptive products. Mucommune has obtained exclusive worldwide license to the underlying intellectual property.
Related news articles:
https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/antibodies-stop-sperm-in-their-tracks-69079
https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/956627
https://www.wired.com/story/an-experimental-birth-control-attacks-sperm-like-a-virus/