Immunoprecise Antibodies (IPA.V) subsidiary Biostrand and VLAIO—Flanders Innovation and Entrepreneurship—the research fund of the Flemish regional government in Belgium—have greed on a 460,000-euro round of grant financing.
This award was conditioning handed over in January of this year, BioStrand recently met the remaining criteria required to pull in the award, which comes after an original grant from VLAIO of 235,000 Euros in 2020.
“Thus far, our patented HYFT-based methodology has been applied predominantly to streamline analysis at the syntactic level and combines sequence information with natural language processing. Using the presence, occurrence, and distribution of HYFT patterns, the focus has been on analysis and integration of sequence-based ‘syntactical’ information. We are now extending the methodology to combine syntactical and structural information and to expand our services portfolio with HYFT-based structural and functional modelling functionalities. By linking HYFTs with the 3D structure (and function) of proteins and expanding platform capabilities for AI discovery, we will be able to support an even wider array of applications, including assay development, biomarker discovery, and computer-aided drug design,” said Dr. Ingrid Brands, general manager and co-founder of BioStrand.
Immunoprecise Antibodies is a biopharmaceutical company involved in finding and developing drugs and antibodies to fight against a broad range of diseases. The company offers services and programs with advanced platforms and technologies, including scientists and business advisers, to help with antibody discovery and development against rare and challenging diseases.
Here’s how they explain HYFT:
HYFTs are signature sequences across species that serve as structural anchor points and carry a multitude of information layers. All of those patterns make up the HYFTs information network that can be linked to relevant real-world data such as clinical data, disease pathways, compound data…
BioStrand is also working on an artificial intelligence discovery platform using advanced AI techniques to make it easier for them to discover and compare protein structures and functions. Combined with their existing tech, the AI discovery platform will help researchers analyze their data and gain insights across the entire analysis from all points along the data-stream, from raw data to biological relevant aspects like diagnostics and drug discovery.
“We believe that integrating sequence and 3D structure analysis in combination with natural language processing will revolutionize protein structure and function prediction and boost developments in biotechnology and precision medicine. Providing a powerful, integrated, and user-friendly data analysis platform for life sciences researchers is our contribution to ramping up the effectiveness of R&D cycles and enabling the real-time analysis of actionable patient data that will bring precision medicine to the next level. It also takes us one step further in our mission to create a truly effective omics data analysis solution,” said Dr Brands.
IPA has taken a hit as of late, which is basically par for the course and may actually reflect the dominant trend in the overall markets. Considering the growth trajectory of this company since we started periodically looking in on them almost two years ago, and there’s no reason to suggest that when the markets recover, they will as well. Buy the dip?
—Joseph Morton
