SUPERPOWER YOUR PROTEIN.
Protein conjugation. Specific, fast and cost effective.
We superpower your protein.
VALANX Biotech is a start-up dedicated to one thing: Making the struggle of conjugating things to your protein a thing of the past.
Specific.We are giving you chemical handles specifically placed into your protein for you to make a connection precisely where you want to. No side reactions, no undefined species. What you want, where you want it.
We do this by placing our patented, reactive amino acid at defined sites into your protein. The site is encoded on the DNA level and is freely selectable.
Very, very fast.
The conjugation reaction we use is the fastest click chemistry reaction described to date. This means cutting the time that your precious protein has to be exposed to the raging elements significantly. The reaction is irreversible and proceeds to completion.
Very, very cost effective.
Who is best at making amino acids? Exactly. Nature. So we decided to let it make ours as well. We use enzymes to produce our reactive amino acid to reduce costs compared to our competitors by several orders of magnitude. Where our competitors use costly and inefficient organic synthesis to add reactive groups to their amino acids, we work with water, add a protein and wait for the magic to happen. We transfer the upsides of this magic to you - in the form of significantly reduced costs to get your protein conjugate.
WHAT WE ENABLE
Antibody Drug Conjugates
Antibody Drug Conjugates (ADCs) are one option to treat cancer and potentially other diseases, by combining an antibody, which delivers a homing function, and an active ingredient, which adds the desired pharmacological effects.
Currently, ADCs are mainly investigated in cancer, where the antibody is raised against a tumor marker, which is specifically overrepresented on cancer cells. Attached to the antibody is then a cytotoxic agent that is able to eliminate the cancerous cells.
ADC efficacy depends on the drug-to-antibody (DAR) ratio i.e. how many cytotoxic molecules are attached to the antibody, as well as their location on the antibody.
VALANX Technology enables the tuning of both parameters. Along with the speed of our conjugation reaction and the cost efficiency of our technology, we aim to be a major driver in the speedy development of ADCs, cutting the time from research to actual patient benefit.
PEGylation of therapeutic peptides and proteins
Therapeutic peptides and small proteins often suffer from low half-life and inherent instability in the bloodstream. This is due to their small size, which makes them susceptible to increased renal clearence compared to larger proteins. Additionally, proteases present in the body often decompose them very quickly. Antigenicity and immunogenicity are further issues that drug developers face.
All of these challenges can be adressed by conjugating the candidate to PEG polymers. PEG polymers increase the hydrodynamic radius of the whole molecule and therefore decrease the rate of renal clearance. Additionally, they shield the candidate from proteases and from recognition by the immune system.
The VALANX Technology is based on a novel proprietary amino acid that can be used in peptide synthesis to introduce a click-reactive moiety site specifically. We can also express your small protein candidate with this amino acid installed at specific sites for targeted, fast and cost-efficient PEGylation.
Directed immobilization for biosensors
For this one, we will let Redeker et. al.* speak: " [For biosensors] it is crucial that the receptor molecule is bound to the transducer surface in a highly controllable way, so that the orientation is optimal for the specific biomolecule without affecting its activity. This is one of the crucial concerns in order to obtain a selective and sensitive detection in a reproducible way. This optimal orientation is however highly specific for the biomolecule of interest."
VALANX Technology enables the cost-efficient production of receptor proteins with site-specific chemical handles attached. This enables the rapid, reproducible, site-specific immobilisation of the protein which in turn enables rapid development of reliable biosensors.
*Steen Redeker, E., Ta, D. T., Cortens, D., Billen, B., Guedens, W., & Adriaensens, P. (2013). Protein engineering for directed immobilization. Bioconjugate Chemistry, 24(11), 1761–1777. https://doi.org/10.1021/bc4002823
Oriented immobilisation of biocatalysts
The orientation of an enzyme immobilised onto a support surface crucially influences the biocatalysts activity and stability. Controlled, orientated immobilisation is therefore a highly attractive method to optimise a biocatalysts process performance.
The VALANX Technology enables the introduction of a chemical handle at defined sites. The handle can then be reacted with solid supports to obtain an active and stable biocatalyst that is specifically optimised for your process conditions.
Meet Our Team
Michael Lukesch, MSc.
CEO & Co-Founder
Michael studied Chemistry, followed by a PhD in Biotechnology. He is a motivated, optimistic self-starter person and likes to innovate and bring new ideas and concepts to reality. Through various activities he aquired education and experience in project management, communications, team leadership and business. He likes to spend his free time in nature, exploring and meeting new people.
Patrik Fladischer, PhD.
CSO & Co-Founder
Patrik has worked with our technology now for more than four years and holds a PhD in biotechnology. He knows the ins and outs of biotechnology and has a knack to come up with out-of-the-box innovative solutions to scientific problems. As a volunteer at the Austrian Red Cross Patrik has additional training in communication, team building and leadership. He likes hiking, soccer and exploring new things.
Han-Fei Allen Tsao, MSc.
Senior Scientist
Maximilian Winkler, BSc.
Scientist
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