Asimov Completes Lead Optimization Campaign with Mabylon AG to Advance Trispecific Antibody for Tree Pollen Allergies

Mabylon leveraged Asimov’s lead optimization offering, Rapid Pools, to de-risk candidate selection before advancing into cell line development with CHO Edge

BOSTON, May 07, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Asimov, the company combining synthetic biology and AI to advance therapeutic development, today announced the completion of a lead optimization campaign with Mabylon AG, a Swiss biotechnology company harnessing the therapeutic potential of naturally occurring human-derived antibodies for the treatment of allergies, inflammation, and neurodegenerative diseases. Using its Rapid Pools platform, Asimov evaluated multiple multispecific antibody candidates, identified molecule liabilities that posed hidden developability risks, and influenced Mabylon’s ultimate selection of a lead candidate to progress into cell line development.

Mabylon’s drug discovery platform efficiently mines diverse immune repertoires, including antibodies derived directly from patients, to map the key allergens and disease-relevant epitopes driving allergic responses and identify human antibodies efficiently neutralizing them. These human-derived antibodies are then engineered into multispecific formats that potently block allergens, preventing the downstream activation of mast cells and basophils. This allergen-targeting approach is designed to provide rapid, consistent, and long-lasting protection with simple subcutaneous dosing, offering a differentiated alternative to traditional desensitization or anti-IgE therapies.

Producing complex multispecifics can come with significant manufacturing challenges, which may not be apparent during early-stage screening with transient expression systems that are not reflective of stable expression in a bioreactor. As a result, programs risk advancing candidates with developability liabilities that may only surface during later-stage manufacturing, leading to costly delays or program failure. To address this developability gap, Mabylon partnered with Asimov to evaluate its multispecific candidates in a stable pool context that is more predictive of downstream manufacturability, providing critical insights into titer, product quality, and heterodimer content.

“When working with complex biologics, developers like Mabylon need CMC-grade insights to make the most informed candidate selection decisions,” said Alec Nielsen, co-founder and CEO at Asimov. “Rapid Pools enabled Mabylon to bring manufacturing truth upstream, and we are proud that our insights helped shape which molecule is now advancing toward the clinic.”

To evaluate multiple multispecific candidates across a broad panel of genetic vector designs, Asimov employed its model-guided vector design platform to explore configurations optimized for each candidate’s unique molecular attributes. The Rapid Pools data revealed that candidate rankings based on stable pool expression differed substantially from rankings based on transient expression alone. These insights directly changed Mabylon's lead candidate selection, de-risking its path to clinical development.

The top-performing candidates were then advanced into a full cell line development campaign using the CHO Edge system, which combines Asimov’s proprietary GS knock-out CHO host, hyperactive transposase, library of characterized genetic elements, and Kernel, Asimov’s computer-aided genetic design software. The end result was a trispecific-producing clone with high titer and product quality to support clinical progression.

“Asimov’s Rapid Pools technology allowed us to efficiently select the best-performing molecule from a broad panel of candidates and de-risk the program prior to entering the conventional process of cell line development. We are pleased to advance to GMP manufacturing with an optimal clone for our trispecific lead antibody targeting tree pollen allergies,” said Dimitri Bieli, EVP Molecular Biology at Mabylon AG.

About Asimov

Asimov’s mission is to advance humanity’s ability to design living systems, enabling biotechnologies with outsized societal benefit. The company is developing a synthetic biology platform—from cells to software—to design and manufacture next-generation therapeutics, including biologics, cell and gene therapies, and RNA through a combination of products, services, and collaborations.

Founded by bioengineers from MIT and Boston University and headquartered in Boston, the company has raised over $200 million from top institutional investors including Andreessen Horowitz, CPP Investments, Horizons Ventures, and Fidelity Management & Research Company. For more information, visit www.asimov.com.

About Mabylon AG

Mabylon is a Swiss biotechnology company harnessing the therapeutic potential of naturally occurring human antibodies to treat allergies, neurodegenerative diseases, and inflammation. Human-derived antibodies have superior therapeutic potential compared to antibodies derived from conventional sources, such as humanized animal models or artificial libraries. In the case of allergy, for instance, Mabylon’s antibodies derived from allergic patients target disease-relevant epitopes, expanding the knowledge of novel allergenic epitopes and their role in disease progression. For more information, please visit www.mabylon.com.

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