Development of pan-serotype neutralizing nanobodies against the four dengue virus subtypes

01/12/2023 to 30/11/2026

Dengue is a vector-borne disease that shows a wide spectrum of symptoms ranging from subclinical infection to life-threatening complications known as dengue shock syndrome or hemorrhagic fever. According to WHO, in the last two decades, the disease rapidly spread reaching approx. 400 million new cases per year worldwide. In addition, due to several factors, including global warming, the geographical distribution of the insect vectors has expanded, leading to the zoonotic transmission to immune naïve populations and setting now about half of the world's population at risk of infection. Currently, there is no antiviral therapy against Dengue, and the approved vaccine (Dengvaxia) is recommended only under special conditions, most importantly, only for people with recorded past dengue infection. Hence, our major goal is to provide a novel therapeutic option against Dengue virus. Based on our expertise and previous work, here we propose the development of single-domain antibodies (nanobodies) with high antiviral efficacies and subtype-independent neutralization capacities. Our vision is to develop novel biologicals based on DENV-specific nanobodies for advanced preclinical development and Phase I human trials to combat a virus that poses serious threat to global health.