Press Release: Abnova Introduces High Throughput TR-FRET Assay System (Interactor®) for Drug Discovery Market

Abnova Corporation and Biotek announced today the collaboration and introduction of a high throughput, protein-protein interaction (PPI) assay system (Interactor®) based on time-resolved fluorescence resonance energy transfer (TR-FRET). While conventional applications of TR-FRET focus primarily on GPCR second messengers and kinases, the emerging field of PPIs as druggable targets for high throughput screening of small molecule drugs represents a new growth opportunity for an integrated antibody and TR-FRET technology. Targeting PPIs is a highly attractive strategy for therapeutic interventions because most proteins function in cells by interacting with other proteins. The size of human interactome has been predicted as approximately 150,000 – 370,000 PPIs. To date, only about 30 PPIs have been studied intensively as targets for PPI-inhibiting small ligands due to limited tertiary structure information of the protein complexes and unavailability of antibody pair which targets the interacting proteins. Biotek has successfully developed a lower cost, high performance TR-FRET system for the drug discovery research market. Abnova will contribute by first validating and developing antibody pairs which target ~1300 human PPIs with tertiary structures prioritized by disease and therapeutic relevance. The integrated antibody and TR-FRET platform will be available for worldwide sales by Abnova starting August. Abnova also plans to offer custom monoclonal antibody and antibody pair services for biotech and pharmaceutical companies’ proprietary and interested PPIs for high throughout drug screening.

The FRET principle is based on the transfer of energy between two fluorophores, a donor and an acceptor. Typically, the donor and acceptor fluorophores are conjugated to distinct antibodies targeting the interacting proteins. As the two proteins come close enough to each other, excitation of the donor by a light source triggers an energy transfer towards the acceptor, which in turn emits specific fluorescence at a given wavelength. TR-FRET utilizes long-lived fluorophores combined with detection on a time-resolved fluorescence basis, allowing for the minimization of background prompt fluorescence interferences which are short-lived. TR-FRET consumes minimal amounts of antibody and labeling reagents, and is amenable to miniaturization and automation. These unique characteristics enable expeditious antibody assay development and precise measurement of biomolecular interaction for discovery of new drug ligands via high throughput screening.

Abnova sales of antibody pairs for protein quantification have generated rapid growth since their first introduction in 2009. As a protein family, serum proteins enjoy the highest popularity ranking among antibody pair customers. The growth is fueled by the market forces in proteomics, translational research, biomarker and drug discovery requiring not only qualitative but also quantitative data. Similarly, these forces will propel an increasing demand of antibody pairs for PPIs as druggable targets for high throughput drug screening in the research and discovery market. This is because the easier and lower technical barrier’s druggable targets such as receptors and enzymes have been well characterized in the past 20 years resulting in a plethora of small molecule, monoclonal antibody, and protein drugs. By overcoming the hurdles of tertiary structure information and well validated antibody pairs for PPIs, the biotech and pharmaceutical communities have great potential to develop the next generation drugs for the more challenging human diseases.

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About Abnova

Abnova is a biotech company specializing in high throughput monoclonal antibody production. The infrastructure Abnova has developed is a unique combination of world-class technologies and management experience of the IT industry in Taiwan. The company has vastly expanded the scope and availability of bio-tools reagents by taking a genome-wide approach to the production of human recombinant protein and antibody. Abnova has developed a portfolio of integrated and system applications including antibody pairs, ELISA kits, assays, and FISH probes which are essential to the translational research, biomarker and drug discovery markets. Abnova also has in vitro diagnostic programs focusing on diabetes, infection, and cancer, and fully human antibody therapeutic for the treatment of sepsis. (www.abnova.com)