NovAb is developing a new class of antibodies, Variable Lymphocyte Receptors (VLRs), discovered by our scientific founder, Max Cooper (Emory University). VLRs are the immune receptors and secreted antibodies of jawless vertebrates, ancient organisms that last shared a common ancestor with humans and other mammals over 500 million years ago, belong to the Leucine Rich Repeat (LRR) family of proteins, and possess a distinctive rigid beta-sheet binding site entirely contained within a single polypeptide structure. This combination of evolutionary distance, distinctive binding site, and single polypeptide structure has proved a source of novel specificities, "targets", and novel compositions, including cellular receptors and multi-specific antibodies. NovAb's lead antibody, Nov.MM3, recognizes a novel target uniquely detected on plasma cells (PCs) and multiple myeloma (MM) tumors, including MM tumor initiating stem cells, and is an example of such a novel VLR specificity.