Researchers Develop Pioneering Method for Production of Antibodies as Revolutionary Alternative to Animal Experiments – vegconomist

A research team from Germany’s University Medical Greifswald Interfaculty Institute of Genetics and Functional Genome Research has developed a new method for the production of antibodies that completely eliminates the traditional use of animal experiments.
The project, named “Ymolution” stands for a revolutionary solution to immunological questions, and was launched earlier in November ahead of a business that will be established over the course of the next few months.
Animal usage is ethically problematic & expensive
Antibodies play a crucial role in medicine, spanning applications from diagnostics (for example, rapid COVID tests) to the development of drugs. They are pivotal in diverse research areas, including cancer research, and have a direct impact on patient care, contributing to advancements in medicines, combating viral infections, and treating chronic conditions like kidney diseases.
“But animals are usually used to produce antibodies,” point out Dr Christian Hentsch and Dr Alexander Reder from the Ymolution project. And this is both highly inefficient and hugely problematic.
Traditional science often incorporates the use of animal gene libraries, or otherwise extracts antibodies from laboratory animals, especially mice and rabbits. “This is not only ethically problematic, but is also associated with a high time and cost expense,” says Dr Reder.
Furthermore, the antibodies produced are often of poor quality, since every animal reacts differently: a shocking 90% of the antibodies produced in this manner cannot be used effectively.
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A more effective, more ethical solution
This is where the Ymolution team comes in, with the innovative, artificial production of nanobodies in the bacterial system. Through their novel method, the immune system of the animals is simulated in bacterial cells. In this way, all relevant antibody specificities can be theoretically imaged in fully synthetically produced gene libraries.
“You can imagine the whole thing as an unlimited collection of blueprints for different antibodies,” Hentsch explains. “From this library, we can choose exactly which antibodies we want to produce, and in advance, we can filter out everything that would not or would only work badly.”
In addition, the new method offers the advantage of producing a large number of antibody specificities that were previously unreachable and which cannot be obtained through animal usage. “With this method, we will produce significantly faster antibodies, which not least significantly reduces the production costs,” adds Dr Reder.
The project, which is being funded with around 850,000 euros via the EXIST research transfer programme of the Federal Ministry of Economy and Climate Protection, is still in its infancy. Preparations for the company are in full swing and the spinoff is poised for autumn 2025.
Jan Meiering, business partner for the Ymolution team, is enthusiastic about how much potential the project offers not just for the animals, but for the local community. “It is intended to lay the foundation for a regionally based company that creates highly qualified jobs in the long term.”
Further information at https://www.medizin.uni-greifswald.de/de/home/

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