Madison startup Immuto Scientific uses a patented plasma technology to speed up the process by which drug makers identify promising new treatments. Drug makers send researchers tiny vials of antibodies that could one day form the basis of new drugs. The researchers analyze the proteins and report back so that customers can tweak the antibodies accordingly.
By cutting the analysis time from up to a year to just two to three weeks, the company estimates it could help the pharmaceutical industry capture $300 million in revenue otherwise lost to the usual lengthy process.
Now, after pulling in $2.3 million in seed funding, the company is moving from Forward BIOLABS, a co-working laboratory space in University Research Park, where it’s rented a cubicle and a single lab bench since 2019. Its new home, 2401 American Lane, near the airport, will offer 2,000 square feet, with the opportunity to lease another 2,000 if the company grows further.
Samples of antibodies provided by clients of Immuto Scientific sit in a bucket of ice before being labeled.
Using the technology they invented while working in a UW-Madison lab, Faraz Choudhury and Dan Benjamin of Immuto Scientific label antibody samples.
Faraz Choudhury and Dan Benjamin use plasma-induced modification of biomolecules (PLIMB) to label antibody samples.
Drug makers ship Immuto Scientific researchers tiny vials of molecules that could one day form the basis of new drugs. The researchers then analyze the proteins and report back so that customers can tweak the molecules accordingly.
Immuto Scientific chief scientific officer Dan Benjamin uses plasma-induced modification of biomolecules (PLIMB) to label antibody samples.
A 3D image of a herceptin (breast cancer) antibody, generated after using plasma technology to label the antibody, provides information on how the antibody would attach to human cells.
Dan Benjamin and Faraz Choudhury look at an 3D image of a herceptin (breast cancer) antibody to see how it would attach to human cells.
Plasma-induced modification of biomolecules (PLIMB) technology is used to label a herceptin (breast cancer) antibody sample at Immuto Scientific’s lab within Forward BIOLABS in Madison.
Immuto Scientific chief technology officer Dan Benjamin (left) and CEO Faraz Choudhury are pictured at Forward BIOLABS in Madison.
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