# Platform for the High Throughput Generation and Validation of Affinity Reagents

> **NIH NIH R44** · ABBRATECH, INC. · 2023 · $1,080,240

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
We present a complete platform for the rapid generation and validation of recombinant mAbs. The
innovations of this proposal include: (1) the pATHENA vector system for overnight conversion of phage
display scFv or Fab clones into IgG molecules, (2) the Epivolve method for the isolation of site-specific
Abs, (3) the incorporation of yeast display into pATHENA to allow biophysical measurement of binding
affinities without the need for protein isolation, and (4) our MILKSHAKE technology for the validation of Abs
for IHC, Western, and ELISA applications. This proposal is a culmination of- and largely a focused
integration of several independent technologies that have been developed (and de-risked) by the principal
investigator (PI). We now want to incorporate these technologies and add them into a single Abbratech
platform. In essence, the proposal is a very robust set of molecular biology modules for: (i) library
construction, (ii) library screening using both phage- and yeast display, (iii) biophysical and kinetic analysis,
(iv) directed evolution, (v) affinity maturation (“AffMat”), (vi) protein engineering, (vii) production of site-
directed Abs, (viii) protein expression integrated into a single platform, and (viii) Ab validation for flow
cytometry, ICC, ELISA and Western applications. All parts of the proposed workflow have either can be-
or have already been automated for high-throughput (HT) production with off-the-shelf robotic solutions.
The proposed platform represents an innovative way to deliver recombinant mAbs, at ideally a retail total
cost of less than several thousand dollars (costs are discussed in the Commercialization plan). This
accuracy, specificity, projected timeline, and cost cannot be currently achieved by any other commercially
available mAb discovery platform. This proposal meets a need that has not been markedly improved upon
since the advent of monoclonal Abs forty years ago and phage display, around the same time. And it can
finally place phage display as a primary engine of diversity, replacing the inefficient and time-consuming
immunization schedules that even phage display advocates fall back on. The significance is high, the team
is well-qualified, the innovation, tactical and strategic, is imaginative, and even though the scope of this
Phase II is daunting, the team is well-equipped to do it.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10598276
- **Project number:** 1R44GM148998-01
- **Recipient organization:** ABBRATECH, INC.
- **Principal Investigator:** Michael P Weiner
- **Activity code:** R44 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $1,080,240
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2023-02-01 → 2025-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10598276

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10598276, Platform for the High Throughput Generation and Validation of Affinity Reagents (1R44GM148998-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10598276. Licensed CC0.

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