Antibody-based therapy is several steps closer to treat lethal mucormycosis

Top Row: Yiyou Gu, Teclegiorgis Gebremariam, Ashraf Ibrahim, and Abdullah Alqarihi

Bottom Row: Sondus Alkhazraji, Eman Youssef, and Ashley Barbarino

Mucormycosis, a fungal infection caused by Mucorales, has high mortality rates in people with
weakened immune systems and those suffering from severe trauma like burns, blast injuries or
victims of natural disasters. The disease caused serious infection among COVID-19 patients
treated with high doses of corticosteroids with mortality rates close to 60 percent. In the United
States, there are approximately 4,000 cases per year with a rate of 200,000 in Southeast Asia where
the disease is endemic to India. While vaccines and immunotherapies are available for viruses and
bacteria, effective antifungal immunotherapies for mucormycosis, specifically, are lacking.

Ashraf Ibrahim, PhD, an investigator at The Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation at
Harbor-UCLA Medical Center for more than 33 years, and Assistant Research Scientist, Yiyou
Gu, PhD, at TLI for more than eight years, have been conducting research using monoclonal
antibodies to address this gap.

Ibrahim’s research focuses on advancing the understanding of the pathogenic mechanisms and
virulence factors of fungal and bacterial infections, and on translating this knowledge into novel
immunotherapeutic strategies to combat infectious diseases.

Their paper, “A humanized antibody against mucormycosis targets angioinvasion and augments
the host immune response,” was recently accepted and published in the Science Translational
Medicine journal. In it, they discuss the use of monoclonal antibodies to target a key fungal cell
surface protein, CotH, which enables the fungus to invade human cells and cause mucormycosis.
Their findings will increase the efficiency of the current treatment options and thus will improve
the outcome of treatment of lethal mucormycosis.

“Mucormycosis is a devastating disease that usually occurs in patients who suffer from weakened
immune system such as patients with poorly controlled diabetes, cancer patients undergoing
chemotherapy, and transplant patients,” said Ibrahim, adding that the disease has had a steady
increase over the last four decades due to an increase in people with diabetes and cancer, as well
as advancement in transplant procedures.

The infection is aggressive and considered a medical emergency that needs immediate attention,
often with disfiguring surgery to remove infected tissues. The damage to blood vessels is
concerning because it’s how antifungal drug therapy is delivered to the infection site. “Our
humanized monoclonal antibody allows antifungal drug therapy to reach to infected tissues
because it prevents fungal cells from damaging human cells and blood vessels,” Ibrahim said.
As a result, Ibrahim and Gu developed an antibody called VX-01, a humanized antibody that has
proven more effective at binding to the fungus compared to the original antibody. Although both
protect from infection, the humanized antibody reduces immunogenicity and enhances therapeutic
effect when used in humans, a major translational step.

Early tests show that VX-01 is safe, with no harmful effects on healthy cells, suggesting that VX-
01 could be a promising treatment to help fight mucormycosis in people with weakened immune
systems.

The Lundquist Institute holds both U.S. and international patents for this humanized antibody and
has granted Vitalex, a Lundquist spin-off company, the commercial rights to advance this
therapeutic for Mucormycosis to patients.

You can read, “A humanized antibody against mucormycosis targets angioinvasion and augments
the host immune response,” in the Science Translational Medicine journal here
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/scitranslmed.ads7369.

About The Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center

The Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center (TLI) is a
world-leading nonprofit biomedical research institute in Los Angeles County. Affiliated with the
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, TLI has an
international reputation for advancing clinical and translational research, training physician
scientists, and delivering valued community service programs.

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The Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center
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