After pretty much exactly 5 years at the IZB, adivo GmbH, a leader in the discovery of species-specific therapeutic antibodies for pets, has embarked on the next phase of its corporate development and moved into new headquarters in Puchheim, near Munich. Preparations for a move to new premises began as early as mid-2022, and the move will triple the office and laboratory space available to the antibody expert to around 1,000 square meters. In addition to steady employee growth, the maturing development pipeline and adivo’s success in research alliances have contributed to the increased space requirements.

In addition, the company recently announced that the first animal patients have been treated in a clinical trial evaluating the safety and early signs of efficacy of an antibody program developed by adivo. The cancer antibody, which is fully tailored version for dogs and addresses an established immuno-oncology pathway, is adivo’s first proprietary program to enter first-in-patient studies. The clinical trial will recruit dogs with late-stage solid tumors, including inoperable and metastatic cases treated under compassionate use.

“In many ways, this news brings the transition of adivo into a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company in the companion animal space full-circle. The study will give us valuable insights and inform the subsequent regulatory clinical development pathway of our compound,” commented Dr. Markus Waldhuber, Co-Founder and Chief Development Officer of adivo. He continued: “Targeting checkpoint inhibitors and cancer immunotherapy in general has delivered transformative changes to the cancer therapy landscape in human medicine. In line with our mission to translate such revolutionary breakthroughs into the companion animal space, novel oncology treatment options were one of our focus areas from the outset.”

The move to Puchheim marks the end of a successful growth phase for adivo at the IZB. During 2022 alone, adivo had seen significant progress in its R&D and partnering efforts and had hit a number of other milestones. The company established a new technology platform called FELIX for drug discovery of feline antibody therapeutics. In conjunction with the launch of the new platform, the expansion of an existing partnership was secured to cover this new piece of technology.

The company’s above-mentioned cancer antibody program was significantly strengthened, too, with the selection of a committed manufacturing partner and the receipt of the limited market authorization status by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), which could significantly shorten the future development path to a first market entry.

A new EU grant could accelerate the development of adivo’s novel therapy for inflammatory bowel disease in dogs, a second growing unmet medical need in the companion animal market. The non-dilutive funding for adivo had a total volume of EUR 2.5 million.