Atreca, Inc., announced today a collaboration with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to accelerate the discovery and development of novel vaccines and therapeutics for human infectious diseases.
“We are grateful to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for its vision,” said Tito A. Serafini, Ph.D., chief executive officer, chief scientific officer, and co-founder of Atreca, Inc. “This commitment from the foundation provides Atreca an opportunity to apply the Company’s Immune Repertoire CaptureTM technology to meet key challenges in global health.”
Immune Repertoire Capture TM technology leverages next-generation sequencing to identify rapidly and comprehensively the set of functional antibodies produced in patients during an immune response. These antibodies both have utility themselves and can be employed to identify the targets of an immune response. Applied to human disease, Immune Repertoire CaptureTM is an engine for the discovery and development of antibody-based therapeutics, vaccines, diagnostics, and research reagents. Atreca recently licensed exclusive rights to the technology for all fields of use from Stanford University.
The foundation’s investment establishes a long-term collaboration between the parties. Under the terms of the agreement, Atreca will apply its Immune Repertoire technology in a particular set of infectious diseases and other conditions, and the Company will share with the foundation the results for use in the discovery and development of vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics to be deployed in a defined group of countries. In the first four years, the partnership will focus on at least three diseases identified: malaria, HIV/AIDS, and tuberculosis.
“Within a very short timeframe, we worked closely with the team at the foundation to bring together our two organizations in a creative manner,” said Paulette Dillon, chief business officer and co-founder of Atreca. “The structure of the agreement facilitates reaching the common goal of improving global health while at the same time allows each party to achieve its individual objectives.”
About Atreca, Inc.
Atreca, Inc., is a privately held biopharmaceutical company whose Immune Repertoire CaptureTM technology revolutionizes the discovery and development of a wide range of products.
The Company was founded in 2010 and has its headquarters in San Carlos, California.
For additional information, please visit: www.atreca.com.
About the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people’s health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people—especially those with the fewest resources—have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, Washington, the foundation is led by CEO Jeff Raikes and Co-chair William H. Gates Sr., under the direction of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett.
For further information please contact media@gatesfoundation.org.