Science in Action
This profile is part of a series called In It Together, which shines a light on members of the PROGEN team and their contribution to the gene therapy community. The PROGEN team consists of life science and adeno-associated virus (AAV) experts who deliver high quality antibody and exclusive AAV products in order to solve research challenges within academia, biotech, and pharma.
Ingmar first knew he was hooked on science when working in a biochemistry lab as a teenager.
His mother, encouraged him to inquire into the possibility of helping out at the University of Leipzig – and to his delight, a postdoc there agreed to take him on as an intern. So, for a few weeks during a couple of school vacations, Ingmar got his feet wet doing titrations and measurements of enzymatic activities as part of a research project investigating Cytochrome P450, enzymes that play a key role in drug metabolism.
“I did some experiments with the other people in the lab and some of them by myself,” said Ingmar.
“That’s when I knew this was what I wanted to do.”
Now, as Head of Research and Development, Ingmar brings his passion for scientific discovery to his work in guiding his team in developing ELISAs and the raw materials like antibodies and recombinant proteins needed to produce them.
He is particularly excited about a new discovery that has recently come to fruition after a years-long quest. Even before Ingmar joined PROGEN in 2022, the R&D team had been searching for an antibody that did not yet exist – one that recognized all 12 of the adeno-associated virus (AAV) serotypes including new variants.
A leading delivery vehicle for gene therapy, AAVs have different tropism depending on their serotype. For example, AAV2 is the optimal serotype for the kidneys, whereas AAV8 works best for the pancreas. Finding a single antibody that could recognize all AAV serotypes would make it possible for people involved in manufacturing AAVs to be able to use just one antibody to fulfill many different needs, including detecting the expression level of viral capsids analyzing the condition of AAV particles.
His team experimented in numerous attempts, looking for one that recognized the widest number of AAV serotypes, remained active after being modified, was stable under a range of conditions, and could be used in different assays including ELISAs.
Finally, in late 2023, they found what they had been looking for.
“Just before the end of 2023, a member of my team did an experiment with some new candidate antibodies and we saw that one of the antibodies being tested recognized all serotypes we were using,” he said.
“It felt like getting a Christmas present!”
The antibody, which they named anti-pan to indicate its role as an antibody that recognizes a wide range of AAV serotypes, is reactive with all AAV serotypes except AAV12 and all new variants we tested so far.
Ingmar credits this discovery to a mixture of effective collaborations, a dedicated team and a bit of luck . Reflecting on the implications of his work, both past and future, means zooming out from his day-to-day tasks and remembering his bigger goal.
“There are not many gene therapy patients but they are patients that do not have any other promising therapy options. For that reason, I think it’s important, from time to time, to focus on the reason we do all of these things – the patients.”
Interested in learning more about the PROGEN Team?