Monday November 13 | 09:00 – 12:00 | Morning

Mutation and Selection Strategies Beyond Affinity Optimisation

Moderators:

Orla Cunningham, Ph.D., Director, Global Biotherapeutic Technologies, Pfizer, Inc.

William (Jonny) Finlay, Ph.D., Director, Protein Discovery & Optimization Group, Pfizer, Inc.

In therapeutic antibody discovery, few lead molecules meet all of the demands required of a truly manufacturable drug. Most lead candidates require some form of engineering and optimization. This course will begin with an introduction to the multiple display technology platforms, mutagenesis strategies and library generation options that exist to enable antibody optimization. In the simplest application, generated libraries can be selected for improved antigen binding. However, increasingly these strategies are being used for more complex applications from humanization to ortholog cross-reactivity, stability, solubility and specificity optimizations. This workshop will use case studies to help attendees navigate the complex workflows and technological options available to ensure success.

This course will cover

-Display technologies
-Optimization library design, build & selection strategies
-Case studies using novel strategies for therapeutic optimization
      - CDR-based binary substitution for ultra-humanization
      - Stability & solubility engineering
      - Combining rational & Darwinian approaches for optimal affinity

Orla Cunningham, Ph.D., Director, Global Biotherapeutic Technologies, Pfizer, Inc.
Following a PhD in Biochemistry and postdoctoral work in cancer cell biology, Orla joined Pfizer’s GBT group in 2006. Her team established a high-throughput automated screening platform, protein expression and purification capabilities and assay development expertise to support both antibody discovery and optimization programs across diverse therapeutic areas within Pfizer. Orla’s group are also very active in technology development and she is widely published in the antibody engineering field.

William (Jonny) Finlay, Ph.D., Director, Protein Discovery and Optimization Group, Pfizer, Inc.

• Display of Biologics
• Engineering Antibodies
• Machine Learning - Part 2

• Antibody-Based Therapies
• Emerging Targets & Approaches
• Membrane Protein Targets

• Safety & Efficacy of Bispecifics
• Advancing Bispecifics
• Engineering Bispecifics

• Tumour Microenvironment
• Innovations in CAR Therapy
• Next-Gen Immunotherapies

• Optimisation & Developability
• Analytical Characterisation
• Protein Stability & Formulation

• Cell Line Engineering
• Expression Platforms
• Protein Process Development

• Intro to Machine Learning
• Machine Learning - Part 1
• Machine Learning - Part 2

• Intro to Machine Learning
• Intro to Bispecific Antibodies
• Intro to Protein Engineering