- Three consortia funded by the European Commission, with €41 million in combined funding, aim to take antibodies into Phase 1 clinical trials to fight infectious diseases. - One virus, one program, one lead antibody: ArAv87 against Mpox (THANATOS), Nip35 against Nipah (HENIPROTECT), LAVA-01 against Lassa (MALASSA). - The programs are coordinated by CEA, INSERM and by Amsterdam UMC. MAbSilico optimizes the antibodies in silico.
Tours, France | October 20, 2026
MAbSilico, a French TechBio company specializing in AI-driven antibody design and optimization, today announced that it has joined three research programs funded by the European Commission. Each one starts from an antibody that has already shown promise. MAbSilico’s job is to make it more potent, more stable and easier to manufacture, so that it reaches first-in-human trials sooner.
One virus, one consortium: the coordinator steers the program up to the clinic, while MAbSilico works upstream on the antibody itself.
Mpox: THANATOS program
Viruses targeted: Mpox and the other human orthopoxviruses
Coordinator: CEA (France), 10 partners, 5 countries, €13.6 million, 2026 to 2031
Lead antibody: ArAv87, designed against the four orthopoxviruses that infect humans
MAbSilico’s role: Optimizing the affinity, stability and manufacturability of ArAv87 and designing additional candidates
Program goal: First broad-spectrum antibody therapy against orthopoxviruses, up to Phase 1
EU grant: No. 101288101
Nipah: HENIPROTECT program
Viruses targeted: Nipah virus and the closely related Hendra virus
Coordinator: INSERM (France), 20 partners, 8 countries, €16.3 million, 2026 to 2032
Lead antibody: Nip35, against the fusion protein, combined with a second antibody
MAbSilico’s role: Optimizing Nip35 and helping identify and design new antibodies for the cocktail
Program goal: First inhaled antibody therapy against Nipah, up to Phase 1
EU grant: No. 101286662
Lassa: MALASSA program
Viruses targeted: Lassa virus
Coordinator: Amsterdam UMC (Netherlands), 10 partners, 5 countries, €10.9 million, 2026 to 2031
Lead antibody: LAVA-01, against Lassa virus
MAbSilico’s role: Modeling and optimizing LAVA-01 to increase its potency and breadth and designing additional candidates
Program goal: LAVA-01 toward the clinic, with capacity building in endemic regions, up to Phase 1
EU grant: No. 101288614
Mpox (THANATOS). In June 2026, 33 countries reported confirmed cases to WHO, and clade Ib now spreads locally in several European countries, France among them. Vaccines exist, but no monoclonal antibody has been approved to treat the disease.
Nipah (HENIPROTECT). The virus kills 40% to 75% of the people it infects, according to WHO, which lists it among its priority pathogens. Outbreaks occur almost every year in Bangladesh and India, and no vaccine or treatment has been approved.
Lassa (MALASSA). Endemic in West Africa, Lassa fever causes 100,000 to 300,000 infections and about 5,000 deaths a year, according to the WHO. No vaccine has been licensed to date.
Antibody optimization usually relies on successive rounds of laboratory testing, each of which can take months. MAbSilico models antibody structure, target binding and developability in silico, so that only the most promising variants are produced and tested. Its platform can design high-affinity candidates against a given target in as little as 21 days. For outbreak-prone viruses, that speed matters: a candidate must be potent, stable and manufacturable at scale before the next epidemic starts.
“We are incredibly proud to be selected by the European Commission and our esteemed consortium partners to tackle some of the most dangerous viral threats facing the world today,” said Vincent Puard, CEO of MAbSilico. “Our computational design and optimization solutions are specifically built to reduce the time and risk associated with traditional antibody discovery. By applying our technology to Lassa, Mpox, and Nipah, we aim to accelerate the delivery of safe, highly effective, and much-needed therapeutics to the clinic, ensuring the world is better prepared for these infectious outbreaks.”
The €41 million provided by the European Commission is shared among the partners of the three consortia. It covers the research, preclinical testing and manufacturing needed to take each program’s lead candidate into Phase 1. The announcement follows the launch in late September of a developability and manufacturability assessment service by MAbSilico and Sartorius.
About the programs
THANATOS aims to develop the first broad-spectrum, scalable antibody therapy against orthopoxviruses, whether they arise from natural outbreaks or biological threats. See more
HENIPROTECT is developing the first inhaled antibody therapy against Nipah and Hendra viruses, delivered by nebulization, with GMP and microalgae-based production. See more
MALASSA combines antibody discovery, AI-based modeling, GMP manufacturing, clinical research and endemic-area logistics to bring LAVA-01 to patients and to build capacity in the regions where Lassa fever is endemic. See more
Funded by the European Union under Grant Agreements No. 101288101 (THANATOS), No. 101286662 (HENIPROTECT) and No. 101288614 (MALASSA). Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
Media contacts
MAbSilico: Vincent Puard, CEO and co-founder, vincent.puard@mabsilico.com
Media relations: Benoit Martin, DigiObs, benoit@digiobs.com
Download the press release (PDF)
Communiqué en français (PDF)