RuiYi and iHuman Institute Form Collaboration to Identify Novel Antibodies Targeting GPCRs

-- New antibodies generated with RuiYi's iCAPS technology to explore GPCR structure and function

LA JOLLA, California and SHANGHAI, June 11, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- RuiYi, a global therapeutic innovation leader, and iHuman Institute at ShanghaiTech University announced today a new research collaboration applying RuiYi's iCAPS (Intermembranous Conformation Antigen Presenting System) technology to create novel monoclonal antibodies with specific binding to G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) to investigate the biological function and structure of GPCRs.

"As mediators of cellular communication, GPCRs and their related intracellular proteins play a central role in human biology and are important targets in mediating physiological processes to treat disease," said Ray Stevens, Ph.D., founding director of iHuman Institute and scientific founder of RuiYi. "The evolution and power of RuiYi's iCAPS technology enables the generation of antibodies to GPCRs with great selectivity, which can be used not only for antibody therapeutic development but also for probing the structure, function, chemical probe discovery, and signaling pathways of GPCRs."

Dr. Stevens founded the iHuman Institute in 2012 to focus on human cell signaling research. In 2007, the Stevens Laboratory and his colleagues opened the door to multiple high-resolution structures of human GPCRs with follow on functional studies.  His efforts have produced a significant amount of the current GPCR structure-function data available to the scientific community.

"At the iHuman Institute, the researchers integrate multiple tools for scientific discovery for advancing human cell signaling research and drug discovery," said Dr. Jie Yin, vice president and provost of ShanghaiTech University. "I look forward to seeing the collaboration help to decipher the mysteries of GPCR signaling." 

"Bringing RuiYi's iCAPS technology to iHuman Institute will synergize research efforts in elucidating GPCR structure-function and how structure affects the physiological function," said Paul Grayson, president and CEO of RuiYi. "The knowledge gained from this collaboration will not only advance the scientific understanding of human cell signaling but also help us better identify selective antibody inhibitors or activators for more effective therapeutics."

About iHuman Institute

The iHuman Institute is an international research effort to improve our understanding of human health through human cell signaling research. The Institute is focused on the basic and applied science of human cell signaling, integrating multiple tools for scientific discovery, and bringing together leading researchers throughout the world. iHuman Institute has research groups in chemical and cell biology, chemistry, computational chemistry, imaging, structural biology, system biology, and translational biology. The iHuman Institute is located on the campus of ShanghaiTech University in Shanghai, China.  For more information, visit www.ihuman-institute.org.

About iCAPS

RuiYi's iCAPS platform, the leading GPCR drug discovery platform, can isolate and present functional GPCRs in their correct confirmation to identify selective monoclonal antibody inhibitors or activators with great specificity for more effective therapeutics. GPCRs are a valuable class of drug targets but have been largely unexplored because of difficulty isolating GPCRs in the correct conformation and functional form, as well as finding drug candidates that have the necessary specificity for therapeutic intervention. RuiYi has developed a series of technologies, termed intermembranous Conformation Antigen Presenting System or iCAPS, that enable the presentation of purified, isolated, functional and conformationally correct GPCRs optimized for generation of antibodies and other biologic modulators.

About RuiYi

RuiYi is focused on the discovery and development of novel biologic therapeutics that meet medical and commercial needs for China's patients and healthcare system and that have the potential to be disruptive globally. In addition to RYI-008, RuiYi has a growing pipeline of monoclonal antibodies from its internal discovery efforts utilizing a series of the Company's technologies, including the iCAPS (intramembranous Conformation Antigen Presenting System). Targets include a select subset of G protein coupled receptors (GPCR), where specificity in binding is critical but has proven difficult to achieve with small molecule modulators. RuiYi's executive management team has offices in La Jolla, California, and RuiYi's discovery efforts and research facility are located in in the Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park in Pudong, Shanghai, China.  For more, visit www.ruiyibio.com.