Symphogen is a biotechnology company based in Copenhagen, Denmark. The Company develops recombinant polyclonal antibodies for the prevention and treatment of serious diseases such as infections and cancer.

Antibodies are an important part of the immune system, whose role is to help the body prevent and fight infections and diseases. When a foreign and potentially harmful object (called an “antigen”), such as a bacteria, virus, or cancer cell, is in the human body, antibodies find and then either neutralize or destroy the invader.

The human body produces many different kinds of antibodies that are able to attach themselves to different parts of an antigen, which helps them completely eliminate these foreign objects. This is called a “polyclonal” response, because there is more than one type of antibody involved. The polyclonal antibodies that Symphogen develops therefore mimic the natural human immune response. This means that they may have potential in preventing and treating infections, certain types of cancer, and other diseases.

Currently, the only available treatments that resemble a natural polyclonal immune response are immunoglobulins, which are generally isolated from blood of healthy or vaccinated donors, and in certain cases animals or donors who have recovered from a specific disease. Unfortunately, immunoglobulins can be associated with low effectiveness because only a fraction of the antibodies will be specific to a particular antigen; safety issues due to the risk of disease transmission; and supply shortages due to dependency on donor blood availability. Symphogen’s polyclonal antibodies are recombinant, meaning that they are produced using modern biotechnological processes on an industrial scale. This approach enables Symphogen to simultaneously generate a variety of antibodies, all specific to a particular disease. By using industrial equipment, Symphogen can quickly produce large quantities of these antibodies while avoiding the risks of disease transmission or donor supply shortages.

Symphogen currently has six recombinant polyclonal antibody drug candidates in development: 

Sym001 is being evaluated in a Phase 1 clinical trial for the treatment of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP) and the prevention of Hemolytic Disease of Newborns (HDN). ITP is a bleeding disorder that causes the blood to clot abnormally. HDN occurs when a pregnant woman suffers an immune reaction against her fetus, causing damage to its oxygen-carrying red blood cells. 

Sym002 is being developed to treat the potentially serious adverse reactions that can be caused by smallpox vaccination. 

Sym003 is being developed for the prevention of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a severe respiratory disease. 

Sym004 and Sym005 are both being developed as anti-cancer recombinant polyclonal antibodies. 

Sym006 is being developed to target an undisclosed type of bacteria.