About
MabTrix is a preclinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing a function-blocking therapeutic monoclonal antibody (MAb) for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) or an orphan form as initial indication. MabTrix aims to develop a novel humanized MAb that specifically inhibits the enzymatic activity of matrix metalloprotease (MMP) 9 by binding to the catalytic site of the activated enzyme. The unique targeting of the MAb for the catalytic site was enabled by immunization using a novel proprietary molecule derived from the catalytic domain, designated Zn-tripod. MMP-9 has been implicated in various inflammatory and malignant diseases. Preclinical studies suggest that interference with MMP-9 activity may lead to reduced inflammation or tumor load in IBD or cancer patients respectively. MAbs generated using the novel immunization technology, designated metallobodies, show promising efficacy in IBD and other disease models. The company's technology was developed in and licensed from the laboratory of Professor Irit Sagi at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. MabTrix was established in the FutuRx incubator and Yeda Research and Development Company Ltd.