ITM Joins e FabRIC Consortium for Broad-Spectrum Therapeutics against Emerging Viruses

The Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp, announces its participation in the e FabRIC  consortium. This initiative unites top universities and European companies to develop a new treatment in order to combat future epidemic outbreaks caused by Sarbecoviruses, a highly pathogenic viral family. The European Commission has granted €7.7 million to e-FabRIC.  

The aim of this European project coordinated by Fabentech is to develop an innovative broad-spectrum antiviral therapy to combat new emerging infectious diseases with pandemic potential, particularly those caused by viruses in the Sarbecovirus family. Considered to be one of the riskiest viruses, Sarbecoviruses are responsible for severe respiratory pathologies in humans, coupled with a high mortality rate and strong mutagenic capacities.

"The Virology Unit of ITM is responsible for testing the antiviral activity of the products against various coronaviruses. The results of this study will contribute to new therapies for SARS-CoV-2 and will better equip us to combat possible new coronaviruses in the future." Says Kevin Ariën head of ITM’s Virology Unit.

Europe's Response to Future Health Emergencies

This innovative therapy is based on mosaic antigen immunization, allowing the large-scale production of multivalent antibodies capable of specifically targeting any virus from a given family, and paves the way for the creation of a new generation of broad-spectrum antiviral treatments.

With a €7.7 million grant from the European Commission under the “Horizon Europe” program, the e FabRIC consortium is part of the European Union’s drive to develop strategic and therapeutic solutions to respond to epidemic outbreaks caused by this specific family of viruses.

The funds granted to the consortium will be used to develop a new and innovative broad-spectrum immunotherapy treatment using the polyclonal antibody technology of Fabentech. e FabRIC will be the first European project to use this kind of approach to develop a treatment able to neutralize several viruses from the same family and their potential variants.

Anticipating Pandemics with Broad-Spectrum Solutions

This innovative therapy is based on mosaic antigen immunization, allowing the large-scale production of multivalent antibodies capable of specifically targeting any virus from a given family, and paves the way for the creation of a new generation of broad-spectrum antiviral treatments.

The consortium will initially focus on the development of a treatment addressing 8 highly pathogenic viruses of the Sarbecovirus family, identified as top priorities by the World Health Organization (WHO). Using this broad-spectrum technology on high-pandemic-potential viruses like Sarbecoviruses anticipates the development of a fast, precise, and life-saving solutions before outbreaks, through treatment stockpiling to safeguard public health. 

ITM will be part of the Consortium led by Fabentech and will collaborate on the development of this life-saving solution to improve pandemic preparedness and response with world-renowned European companies and research institutions such as the Cambridge University (UK), the Foundation for Biomedical Research of the Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre in Madrid (Spain), Biotem (France), a company specialized in immune-technologies, and the international public relations agency FIPRA (Belgium).

"We are delighted to have been chosen by the European Commission to coordinate this ambitious European project, which is essential to the implementation of new preventive and therapeutic strategies to avoid the development of health crises similar to the Covid-19 pandemic," said Sébastien Iva, Chief Executive Officer of Fabentech. "Fabentech has always been committed to working with European institutions to give patients access to new therapeutic options as soon as possible. Within this consortium, and with the help of these renowned partners, we are confident in our ability to develop the next generation of broad-spectrum antivirals, paving the way for Europe to emerge as a global leader in preventing the onset of future pandemics.”