BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar 25, 2025--
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250325009806/en/
Nanobodies, or single-domain antibodies, are only about 10% the size of traditional antibodies, yet retain high target-binding affinity, exhibit enhanced tissue penetration, and can tackle structurally-challenging targets inaccessible to some full-length antibodies. Leveragen’s Singularity Suite of nanobody mice harnesses cutting-edge genetic engineering technologies to remove competing conventional antibodies and preserve native immunoglobulin gene regulation, maximizing nanobody-specific immune responses and maintaining normal B-cell development. Similar to its flagship Singularity Sapiens platform of fully human single-domain antibodies developed for therapeutic applications, the Singularity Musculus platform is purpose-built to generate mouse-derived nanobodies with superior diversity, affinity, stability, and cost-efficiency—traits critical to developing high-performance reagents for research and diagnostic applications.
“We are excited to begin this partnership with CST, marking a major milestone that underscores our commitment to antibody innovation,” said Dr. Weisheng Chen, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Leveragen Inc. “Our Singularity Musculus platform was developed specifically to meet the growing need for versatile, diverse, and reproducible reagent antibodies. By merging our proprietary Singularity Musculus platform with CST’s renowned expertise in antibody reagents, we aim to raise the bar for nanobody-based tools throughout the life sciences.”
Dr. Roberto Polakiewicz, Chief Scientific Officer at Cell Signaling Technology, commented, “We are delighted to collaborate with Leveragen to explore the Singularity Musculus platform and its potential to advance reagent antibody development for researchers around the world.”
This partnership highlights the growing significance of nanobody-based technologies in areas including basic research, diagnostics, and therapeutic development. With their small molecular footprint, modular monomeric structure, robust binding affinity, and suitability for certain challenging antigens, nanobodies are uniquely positioned for high-throughput screening, precision imaging, and other advanced life science applications. By combining Leveragen’s and CST’s expertise, the collaboration aims to accelerate the creation of next-generation reagent antibodies.
About Leveragen
Leveragen is a genetic engineering company dedicated to transforming antibody discovery and development for research, diagnostics, and therapeutics. Operating exclusively from its Woburn, Massachusetts facility, the company employs advanced genome editing, synthetic biology, and chromosomal engineering technologies to develop next-generation genetic models that accelerate antibody discovery. Leveragen’s proprietary collection of nanobody mice, the Singularity Suite, features Singularity Sapiens, designed to generate fully human single-domain antibodies for developing a broad range of biologic modalities, and Singularity Musculus, engineered to produce mouse-derived single-domain antibodies optimized for high-performance reagent applications. Through strategic collaborations with global pharmaceutical and biotechnology leaders, the company addresses unmet medical needs and accelerates the translation of scientific breakthroughs into practical solutions. For more information, please visit www.leveragen.com.
About Cell Signaling Technology
Cell Signaling Technology (CST), headquartered in Danvers, Massachusetts, is a global leader in the development and production of high-quality research antibodies, reagents, and related technologies. Established in 1999 by scientists committed to furthering cellular and molecular research, CST has earned a reputation for excellence through rigorous validation processes, innovative products, and dedication to reproducibility. Serving academia, pharmaceuticals, and biotechnology worldwide, CST provides tools that help researchers investigate complex signaling pathways, uncover disease mechanisms, and accelerate therapeutic discovery. With a focus on quality and customer service, CST remains at the cutting edge of life science innovation. Learn more at www.cellsignal.com.
Leveragen Inc., a Boston-based biotechnology company specializing in next-generation genetic models for antibody discovery, today announced a comprehensive collaboration with Cell Signaling Technology (CST), a global leader in high-quality research antibodies and associated reagents. This collaboration will explore Leveragen’s proprietary Singularity Musculus platform to expedite the development of mouse-derived nanobodies tailored for reagent antibody applications.
ROME (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Saturday that the Vatican could be a venue for Russia-Ukraine peace talks, taking up the Holy See’s longstanding offer after Pope Leo XIV vowed to personally make “every effort” to help end the war.
Speaking to reporters in Rome before meeting with Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, the Vatican point man on Ukraine, Rubio said that he would be discussing potential ways the Vatican could help, “the status of the talks, the updates after yesterday (Friday) and the path forward.”
Asked if the Vatican could be a peace broker, Rubio replied: “I wouldn’t call it broker, but it’s certainly — I think it’s a place that both sides would be comfortable going.”
“So we’ll talk about all of that and obviously always grateful to the Vatican for their willingness to play this constructive and positive role,” said Rubio, who also met Saturday with the Vatican secretary of state and foreign minister.
The Vatican has a tradition of diplomatic neutrality and had long offered its services, and venues, to try to help facilitate talks, but found itself sidelined during the all-out war, which began on Feb. 24, 2022.
Pope Francis, who occasionally angered both Kyiv and Moscow with his off-the-cuff comments, had entrusted Zuppi with a mandate to try to find paths of peace. But the mandate seemed to narrow to help facilitate the return of Ukrainian children taken by Russia, and the Holy See also was able to mediate some prisoner exchanges.
During their meeting at the U.S. Embassy in Rome, Rubio thanked Zuppi for the Vatican's humanitarian role, citing in particular prisoner swaps and the return of Ukrainian children. Rubio “emphasized the importance of continued collaboration under the new leadership of Pope Leo XIV,” U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said.
Leo, who was elected history’s first American pope on May 8, took up Francis’ call for peace in Ukraine in his first Sunday noon blessing as pope. He appealed for all sides to do whatever possible to reach “an authentic, just and lasting peace.”
Leo, who as a bishop in Peru had called Russia's war an “imperialist invasion," vowed this week personally to “make every effort so that this peace may prevail.”
In a speech to eastern rite Catholics, including the Greek Catholic Church of Ukraine, Leo begged warring sides to meet and negotiate.
“The Holy See is always ready to help bring enemies together, face to face, to talk to one another, so that peoples everywhere may once more find hope and recover the dignity they deserve, the dignity of peace,” he said.
The Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, repeated the Vatican’s offer to serve as a venue for direct talks, saying the failure of negotiations in Istanbul to reach a ceasefire this week was “tragic.”
“We had hoped it could start a process, slow but positive, toward a peaceful solution to the conflict,” Parolin said on the sidelines of a conference. “But instead we’re back to the beginning.”
Asked concretely what such an offer would entail, Parolin said that the Vatican could serve as a venue for a direct meeting between the two sides.
“One would aim to arrive at this, that at least they talk. We’ll see what happens. It’s an offer of a place,” he said.
“We have always said, repeated to the two sides that we are available to you, with all the discretion needed,” Parolin said.
The Vatican scored what was perhaps its greatest diplomatic achievement of the Francis pontificate when it facilitated the talks between the United States and Cuba in 2014 that resulted in the resumption of diplomatic relations.
The Holy See has also often hosted far less secret diplomatic initiatives, such as when it brought together the rival leaders of South Sudan in 2019. The encounter was made famous by the image of Francis bending down to kiss their feet to beg them to make peace.
Perhaps the Holy See's most critical diplomatic initiative came during the peak of the Cuban missile crisis when, in the fall of 1962, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev ordered a secret deployment of nuclear missiles in Cuba that were soon detected by U.S. spy planes.
As the Kennedy administration considered its response, with the threat of nuclear war looming, Pope John XXIII pleaded for peace in a public radio address, in a speech to Vatican ambassadors and also wrote privately to Kennedy and Khruschev, appealing to their love of their people to stand down.
Many historians have credited John XXIII’s appeals with helping both sides step back from the brink of nuclear war.
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaks to the media during a meeting with President of the Conference of Italian Bishops, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi at the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See in Rome, Saturday, May 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, and President of the Conference of Italian Bishops, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, pose for a photo at the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See in Rome, Saturday, May 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, and President of the Conference of Italian Bishops, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, meet at the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See in Rome, Saturday, May 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, and President of the Conference of Italian Bishops, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, pose for a photo at the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See in Rome, Saturday, May 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
