About

QVQ Holding BV

QVQ offers tailor-made VHH-development on inquiry. This includes:

  • – Design and implementation of an immunization protocols in llama.
  • – Determination of immune responses in the sera.
  • – Cloning of VHH-repertoires in phage-display librarie
  • – Delivery of different VHHs (sequence and >0.5 mg protein).

QVQ can also deliver larger quantities of VHH for their prospective use in for example (co-)crystallization or in vivo experiments. In addition, QVQ offers directional labeling of VHHs and the oppertunity to produce VHHs in yeast according to GMP conditions, which allows for clinical application.

QVQ Mission

QVQ aims for an accurate and sensitive detection of diseases in an early stage. In order to achieve this, QVQ collaborates closely with top academic groups and industrial partners to deliver top quality and validated imaging and research agents that are based on directionally conjugated single domain antibodies (functionalized VHH).

Main Services and Products

QVQ’s main product is based on a small, high affinity single domain antibody fragment from camelids (VHH). Upon request, these VHHs can be tailor-made into mono-, bi- and even multispecific formats. To facilitate excellent detection (imaging) and for example affinity purification, QVQ offers directional conjugation of VHHs to a variety of tracers using its proprietary C-direct tag and sufhydryl-maleimide coupling. Because the free thiol in the C-direct tag is positioned distal of the antigen-binding loops of the VHH, QVQs conjugates maintain the original binding integrity of the VHHs. QVQ strives to provide the same VHH with different modalities and probes to enable all imaging applications in a correlative way, ranging from ELISA, IHC, to optical and electron microscopy.

Custom-Services and Products

QVQ has a good track record of delivering tailor made VHHs. In order to provide products that are best suited for the intended application, immunizations, selections, tags and final VHH-formats are designed and implemented in close consideration with the customer’s wishes. Moreover, QVQ can also equip QVQ-owned and customer’s VHHs with desired probes for particular applications.

Two great bi-heads

Biheads!

Founding history

QVQ was founded in 2010 by Theo Verrips, Pim Epping, Mohamed El Khattabi, Edward Dolk, and Eefjan Breukink with the aim to develop existing VHH from the Utrecht University and newly obtained proprietary VHH into high quality imaging agents for the early detection of diseases. QVQ has broadened its own portfolio of imaging agents and further developed methodologies for directional functionalization of the VHH for imaging. In collaboration with partners in Dutch medical centres, industrial partners and institutes QVQ is the only company that can develop VHH from the immunization of llamas, library construction, selection, screening and production up to GMP scale for translation to the clinic.

 

Theo Verrips

Co-founder, former CEO and strategic manager

Theo co-founded QVQ after an impressive academic and industrial career. Theo served Unilever for 33 years in various functions, of which his final position was Head Exploratory Research a.i. After he retired from Unilever in 2002, Theo transferred part of the llama antibody technology he developed at Unilever to his research group at Utrecht University. In 2006 he was invited by the GATES Foundation to participate in projects to combat infectious diseases like AIDS using llama antibodies. He contributed to over 150 peer reviewed publication and over 75 patents. He has contributed to the start-up of companies, like BAC (now a Thermo Fisher Scientific company), Ablynx (now a Sanofi company), Argenx and Lactrys. He is presently active in many areas, including membership of the European FSHD Society, and member of the Supervisory Board of FEI Eindhoven. After Theo’s ambition for a solid basis for a prosperous future for QVQ seemed to be established, Theo retired from QVQ as of October 2019.

Board members

Edward Dolk

Chief Executive Officer, Publications

Edward is active for over 17 years in applied science using llama antibody technology. The antibody technology work resulted in two first author papers on llama antibody fragments and co-inventor on 10+ patents on llama antibody fragments and a chapter in a book on the selection of llama antibodies under application conditions. Edward is a strong communicator and networker and has built up an impressive network in the scientific and business communities. Edward has developed the knowledge, the capacity and the ambition to market the VHH commercially and put QVQ and its products on the map as a high quality antibody supplier.

Raimond Heukers

Chief Scientific Officer, Publications

Dr Raimond Heukers studied Laboratory Research in Enschede and Biology of Disease  at Utrecht University. He obtained his PhD at Utrecht University with his thesis entitled ‘Clustering-Induced, Clathrin-Mediated Endocytosis for cancer therapy’. His PhD research focussed on the use of VHHs in fundamental research, therapy and molecular imaging. After his PhD, Raimond underwent additional training in antibody-discovery at arGEN-X in Belgium. Therefore, he is well trained in the field of antibody/VHH discovery and research. As a postdoctoral fellow at the VU University in Amsterdam, he joined the Molecular Pharmacology group of Prof Martine Smit, a renowned expert in the field of GPCRs. There, Raimond successfully established a VU-VHH platform for the selection and characterization of VHHs that binds and/or modulate different types of GPCRs. Besides being engaged with QVQ, Raimond is closely involved with the ongoing GPCR-VHH research lines at the VU.