Il sempre maggiore impegno di TLS anche sul fronte della ricerca propria, ha visto negli ultimi anni una notevole crescita del contributo scientifico dei ricercatori e delle ricercatrici della Fondazione.
PISAMUNAB
NATIONAL PROJECTS
The PISAMUNAB project – Integrated Platform for the Development of Human Monoclonal Antibodies and Nanobodies for Biomedical Applications – is funded through the cascade calls launched under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), Spoke 8 of the VITALITY project (“Innovation, Digitalisation and Sustainability for the Diffused Economy in Central Italy”, Code ECS_00000041, CUP H33C22000430006), financed by the European Union through NextGenerationEU under PNRR Mission 4, Component 2, Investment 1.5. Coordinated by the University of Urbino, the programme supports high-impact initiatives in the fields of health, wellbeing and sustainability, fostering synergies between academia and industry.
Spoke 8 – Innovative Therapeutic Approaches: New Chemical Entities, Biologics and Drug Delivery. The aim of the PISAMUNAB project is to develop an advanced platform for the generation and selection of human monoclonal antibodies and nanobodies, leveraging libraries derived from COVID-19 patients and combining artificial intelligence, bioinformatics and synthetic biology tools. The project seeks to create an integrated platform for the development and characterisation of human monoclonal antibodies and nanobodies for biomedical applications, exploiting antibody sequence libraries obtained from vaccinated individuals and COVID-19 convalescent patients. The work is structured into three work packages: the first focuses on the provision and analysis of antibody libraries; the second on the design and selection of humanised single-domain antibodies; and the third on the production and evaluation of proof-of-concept antibodies. The project makes extensive use of advanced digital technologies, including synthetic biology, bioinformatics and artificial intelligence, to optimise antibody humanisation, maturation and engineering processes. PISAMUNAB is expected to generate significant scientific, technological, economic and societal impact by advancing knowledge in the field of monoclonal antibodies and nanobodies, supporting the development of innovative healthcare products and services, enhancing the expertise and infrastructure of the participating partners, and promoting public health and the prevention of infectious diseases.
Fondazione Toscana Life Sciences is responsible for building a virtual library of human monoclonal antibodies based on a collection of antibody gene sequences isolated from human donors. The Foundation is also developing dedicated software tools for the analysis and selection of antibody sequences, as well as for the management of project data and workflows.