March 21, 2025
Jaap Goudsmit and Anna Beukenhorst Attend WHO Global Consultation on Preparing for H5N1 Outbreaks
Earlier this week, Jaap Goudsmit, Chief Scientist of Leyden Labs, gave a talk on monoclonal antibodies as preventive tools for H5N1 outbreaks, at the global consultation of the World Health Organization (WHO). Anna Beukenhorst, Senior Director of Integrated Data Analytics, moderated a panel discussion on broadly neutralizing antibodies and antivirals. Previously, Leyden Labs showed that intranasal CR9114 protects mice from lethal H5N1 challenge, even at the very low dosage of 4 µg (read the article here).
Professor Goudsmit talked about the lessons learned from his 40+ years of experience in research and development of monoclonal antibodies. He explained how the failure of broadly-neutralizing antibody CR6261 in humans was attributed to the administration route: intravenous administration leading to too low concentrations at the port of entry of the virus. Leyden Labs was founded to resolve this issue, by administering an even broader antibody, CR9114, intranasally, which results in an increase in potency.
Dr Beukenhorst moderated a panel on research and development priorities for monoclonal antibodies and antivirals. Panelists touched upon resistance against approved antivirals, the challenges of producing at scale, and the lessons learned from previous pandemics. Furthermore, the importance of the current ‘interpandemic period’, and the role of monoclonals to complement vaccines were discussed. Panelists agreed that before human-to-human transmission occurs, we need efficacious prophylactics on the shelf that provide broad protection against avian influenza strains, including H5N1, and can be rolled out fast in case of a pandemic.
The WHO holds global consultations to coordinate international efforts in monitoring, preventing and responding to threats such as H5N1. Koenraad Wiedhaup: “We appreciate the effort of the WHO to seek global consultation on this topic. We were happy to share information about our innovative PanFlu program that uses intranasal administration of a uniquely broadly protective influenza antibody, CR9114, for prophylaxis. We already demonstrated low-dose protection against H5N1, and its breadth of protection, covering influenza H5N1 strains from 50 years ago as well as the most recent isolates. We now look forward to the R&D roadmap on avian flu that WHO plans to develop and implement.”
Link to meeting information: What research is important to prepare and respond to H5N1 influenza outbreaks?
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