Overview
- Peer-reviewed results in Science Translational Medicine show that a recombinant OPG153 antigen induced antibodies in mice that neutralized monkeypox virus.
- Researchers used AlphaFold 3 to predict OPG153 as the binding target of human broadly neutralizing antibodies, then confirmed the match with structural studies.
- Twelve potent antibodies were isolated from previously infected or vaccinated people and mapped to the newly recognized surface protein target.
- UT Austin filed a patent application on OPG153 as a vaccine antigen, and Fondazione Biotecnopolo di Siena filed for antibodies targeting OPG153.
- The work remains preclinical with teams optimizing antigen and antibody candidates for scalable production and possible future human testing, with potential relevance to smallpox.