Protein conjugation. Specific, fast and cost effective.
VALANX Biotech Develops Novel approaches to bioconjugation
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.
Fast.
The conjugation reaction we use is the fastest and the most convenient 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.
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.
Applications
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.
Oriented 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.
Team
Michael Lukesch, MSc
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.
Johanna Hausjell, PhD
Senior Scientist
Johanna studied technical chemistry at the TU Wien and did her PhD in biotechnology, focusing on recombinant protein production and purification. Being fascinated by the possibilities of what can be achieved by protein engineering, she joined Valanx in January 2020. Outside the lab, Johanna enjoys hiking, climbing and painting.
David Alejandro Peña, PhD
Senior Scientist
He is passionate about the huge potential of biotechnology and synthetic biology to solve real world problems. Coming from a chemical engineering background, he got interested in engineering microbes to make all kinds of cool products. So he decided to focus on biotechnology for his master degree (TU Munich) and PhD (BOKU Vienna). He also gained great experiences during research stays at the Center for Bio-sustainability in Copenhagen and at the Francis Crick Institute in London. Now at Valanx, he is excited to develop technologies for efficient cell engineering. Besides his passion for science and technology, he also loves hanging out with friends, travelling and movies.
Maximilian Winkler, BSc
Scientist
Max is our part-time scientist, as he is currently finishing his MSc in Technical Chemistry at TU Wien. He already worked for us doing his master's thesis on enzyme expression optimization. Apart from that, he plays bass in a not yet famous band and likes to make all sorts of music.
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