Nona Biosciences,a wholly-owned subsidiary of HBM Holdings Limited announced it has entered into a collaboration agreement with Michael S. Diamond, MD, PhD, of Washington University in St. Louis to discover viral targets for which few or no human monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) currently exist, such as western equine encephalitis virus (WEEV), rabies and severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFSTV). Dr. Michael S. Diamond is a Professor of Medicine, Molecular Microbiology, Pathology & Immunology at Washington University School of Medicine.

The Diamond laboratory is renowned for its research on molecular basis of disease of globally emerging RNA viruses and its focus on the interface between pathogenesis and host immunity. Researchers in the lab have already identified many key innate and adaptive immune system components that protect against multiple families of viruses, as well as the viral genes that counteract this response.