APIS Assay Technologies has announced that Clickmer Systems and Fraunhofer IMS have been granted €1,101,000.00 for their collaboration project InfektoFlex, by Projektträger Jülich (PTJ).

The aim of the project due to commence in spring 2023 is to establish a novel diagnostic assay platform that enables a fast response time towards emerging pandemic situations.

Clickmer Systems, owned by UK company APIS, uses Nobel Prize winning technology ‘Click’ Chemistry. The synthetic antibody analogues can bind to targets with high specificity and affinity, making for novel detection reagents that can be rapidly identified in an iterative selection process called Click-SELEX.

Easily adaptive to upcoming pathogens and their evolutive resistances, the development time of Clickmers is shorter compared to antibodies, which are currently used in many diagnostic assay platforms.

The project will see Clickmers being coupled with optical Nanosensors, which are fluorescent in near infrared light and qualify for low signal-to-noise ratio. Upon binding of a pathogen to the detection structure, the fluorescence of the Nanosensor changes enabling measurement of the binding events.

By combining Clickmers with optical Nanosensors, InfektoFlex aims to develop a diagnostic assay platform with superior sensitivity and specificity with a faster response time for the detection of societal relevant emerging pathogens.

Dr Ian Kavanagh, COO of APIS Assay Technologies, said: “We are excited to launch the project InfektoFlex with Fraunhofer IMS. The platform will provide a more cost-efficient and time-saving solution, with a reduction in development costs through a more sustainable process compared to the commonly used ELISA assay systems (which require the usage of animal-derived antibodies). Clickmer Systems will provide an adaptive and innovative diagnostic platform for pandemic responsiveness with higher reproducibility.”