Aberdeen University spin-out, Vertebrate Antibodies Ltd (VAL), has successfully secured a significant investment with IMG (Innova Medical Group), for the rapid screening and diagnosis of diseases. The pair will now form a new holding company called EpitogenX.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic VAL incorporated its EpitoGen and EpitoPredikt technologies to develop antibody tests as part of the Scottish Government Chief Scientist Office Rapid Response in COVID-19 research programme.

Following the collaborative agreement, EpitoGenX will duly concentrate on the development of these technologies to reach industrial maturity and, ultimately, widespread distribution.

The AI-driven system, EpitoPredikt, was created to establish specific elements of the COVID-19 virus that would trigger the body’s immune response. Now it will be adapted to do the same for other specific diseases.

Meanwhile, EpitoGen is a biological platform, developed to combine molecular elements as they would appear naturally in the virus. It is an approach that enhances the test’s performance, improves sensitivity and, critically, is flexible in terms of incorporating new variants into the format.

The priority for EpitogenX is to develop lab-based and point-of-care diagnostic tests for Lyme disease and diabetes. Both conditions are particularly difficult to diagnose early enough to enable timely intervention. In contrast, the new tests are cheaper and will have greater overall accuracy than those currently available kits.

Macomics – a company focused on macrophage drug discovery – has announced that it is commencing on a worldwide drug discovery collaboration with Ono Pharmaceutical.

The duo will be developing new immuno-oncology antibody drugs against a novel macrophage target of interest in the area of cancer.

As part of the agreement, Macomics will identify antibody candidates against the novel target of interest by incorporating its ENIGMAC macrophage drug discovery platform.

Meanwhile, Ono will have an exclusive option to license global rights to the candidates for further commercialisation and development.

Macomics’ ENIGMAC macrophage drug discovery platform integrates large volume human data, custom cell models and proprietary human macrophage genome editing capability to discover novel targets and unlock disease-specific target biology.

Under the terms, Macomics will also receive an upfront payment, research and development funding, and success-based milestone payments, as well as tiered royalties based on global sales.

Toichi Takino, executive director, discovery and research at Ono, was optimistic about the promise of the collaboration to change lives: “Targeting macrophages in immune-oncology is emerging as an exciting area with significant opportunity to deliver novel therapeutics to improve cancer outcomes and to change the lives of patients with cancer.”