Rapid Novor’s REmAb antibody protein sequencing platform uses mass spectrometry to distinguish and sequence proteins for monocolonal antibody (mAb) engineering.
The Canada-headquartered company recently tripled its laboratory footprint to create room for the Thermo Fisher Orbitrap Fusion mass spectrometer and the Evosep LC system.
Mingjie Xie, CEO and co-founder of Rapid Novor told us the need for expansion was pressing: “Our lab is at capacity, essentially, the machine is really fully booked for all the [outsourced] projects as well as the internal projects we’re taking on for our R&D purposes. So, the extension of this lab will really increase our capacity so we can take on more projects at the same time. So we can get our throughput at a much higher level.”
The company opened the mass spectrometry lab last year and has since launched a commercial service offering, dubbed WILD.
The addition of the new spectrometer supports EThcD fragmentation, which is a “critical” component of Rapid Novor’s WILD method and REmAb platform. According to the company, this fragmentation enables the company to accurately distinguish Isoleucine and Leucine using mass spectrometry.
Xie said, the ability to distinguish the two amino acids through mass spectrometry has previously been very difficult, as they both have the same molecular weight, which mass spectrometry measures as a way of distinguishing proteins. However, with the fragmentation used in WILD they can be distinguished.
While Rapid Novor is not the inventor of this technology, it is the first to commercialize it, according to the company
“For the first time we can use mass spectrometry alone to confidently determine every single amino acid in an antibody protein sequence,” said Xie.
The new addition to the company's facility opened August 17th, 2018.