BioMed X unveiled its new immunology discovery platform designed to allow for the accurate and fast identification of target antigens of human T cell receptors (TCRs).

The platform is expected to be deployed via a collaborative model with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies worldwide for preclinical research, vaccine development, and the development of new therapeutic concepts for treating autoimmune diseases and cancer.

The underlying technology was the result of a collaboration between BioMed X and Janssen Research & Development, LLC (Janssen). An international team of early-career researchers was recruited through the unique BioMed X crowdsourcing model.
During a five-year research project at the BioMed X Institute in Heidelberg, the team developed a new platform technology for “Rapid Identification of Auto-Antigens in Autoimmune Diseases.”

The project resulted in a patent application and several manuscripts soon to be published.

“In contrast to many of our competitors in the T cell space, our new platform is based on physiological molecular interactions between T cells and antigen-presenting cells. At the same time, we believe it will have wide applicability as a highly accurate, robust, and cost-efficient drug discovery and development tool,” said Christian Tidona, founder and managing director of the BioMed X Institute.

“With this new technology, I believe that we can make a major contribution to developing new therapeutic concepts for the treatment of life-threatening diseases such as cancer and autoimmune diseases,” added Tidona.

The BioMed X Institute has now established a new independent immunology discovery unit offering services and partnering opportunities in the fields of TCR discovery and characterization, identification and mapping of TCR target epitopes, evaluation and safety profiling of TCR and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapies, as well as discovery and validation of engineered TCR therapeutic assets. Interested parties are invited to directly contact BioMed X to discuss a potential partnership.