Results from three independent discovery campaigns show Optimers with up to 142x higher affinity for more sensitive assays.

The three main reasons people explore Optimer development are:

• There is no antibody or aptamer available for their target
• They need functionality that antibodies or protein-based antibody alternatives can’t provide
• The available antibodies or aptamers just aren’t good enough

If available reagents aren’t sufficient, we work with the customer to understand their project and ensure the right aptamer library, the right discovery conditions, and the right counter-targets are used at every stage of the project. Following discovery, we characterise the top hits from next-generation sequencing to determine affinity, selectivity, stability, and function.

When you need higher assay sensitivity, improved affinity can help. Assay sensitivity and reagent affinity are directly linked. The binding affinity of your detection reagents is a critical factor in determining your assay’s limit of detection. A lower K_D indicates stronger affinity, enabling the assay to capture and measure lower target concentrations.

Our Optimer platform delivers multiple lead candidates that meet or exceed antibody-level affinity across structurally distinct target classes.

Below are high-throughput screening results showing affinity comparisons from multiple Optimer hits from independent discovery campaigns, with the customer’s initial commercially available antibody or aptamer control highlighted.

Lipoprotein lipase Optimers beat the antibody by 142x

Screening 39 Optimer hits against Lipoprotein lipase showed that 16 achieved higher affinity than a demanding sub-nanomolar antibody, including a top candidate with an affinity of 1.3pM, over 140x tighter than the antibody comparator.

All 7 Cathepsin G Optimers beat the aptamer

All 7 Optimer candidates screened against Cathepsin G exceeded the affinity of the customer’s original aptamer, with binding affinities ranging from 16x to 77x higher than the aptamer control, improving affinity from 2μM to 26nM for better assay sensitivity.

80% of gp120 Optimers beat the antibody

Of the 25 Optimer candidates screened against gp120, 20 achieved binding affinity higher than the commercially available antibody benchmark, increasing the affinity from 30nM of the antibody to 9nM of the lead Optimer.

Across three independent, structurally diverse targets, the Optimer platform produced multiple candidates for each target that outperformed established antibody and aptamer benchmarks. Affinity is only one requirement, so a range of candidates with the affinity profile you need gives you a choice of hits to take forward for selectivity, stability and function in your assay, providing the best chance of success for your project.

Performance at a glance

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