Patent ID: 8574548

Claim:
A multivalent binding agent with affinity for a member of the TGF-β superfamily, said agent comprising the general structure I: (< bd 1>-linker1) k -[{< bd 1>-linker2-< bd 2>-linker3 f -} n -(< bd 3>) m -(linker-4-< bd 4>) d ] h , where: n and h are independently greater than or equal to 1; d, f, m and k are independently equal to or greater than zero; bd1, bd2, bd3 and bd4 are polypeptide binding domains having an affinity for the same member of the TGF-β superfamily, with bd1, bd2, bd3, and bd4 being independently the same or different from each other; and, linker1, linker2, linker3 and linker4 are unstructured polypeptide sequences wherein one or more of linker1, linker2, linker3 and linker4 comprises the polypeptide sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 41, SEQ ID NO: 42 or SEQ ID NO: 52; wherein the number of amino acids in each linker is determined independently and is greater than or equal to X/2.5; where, X equals the shortest linear distance in Å units between: (a) the C-terminus of an isolated form of the binding domain that is located at the N-terminus of the linker and that is specifically bound to its ligand; and, (b) the N-terminus of an isolated form of the binding domain that is located at the C-terminus of the linker and that is specifically bound to its ligand.