I4*
Beyond Antibodies: Aptamers as Next Frontier in Diagnostics and Therapeutics
Dr Marek Ondrus, Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences; Prof. Michal Hocek, Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences
IOCB Tech
Challenge
Many diagnostic and therapeutic applications rely on molecular recognition tools that perform well under ideal laboratory conditions but lose affinity, specificity, or stability in real-world biological or application-specific environments. Conventional binders, including standard antibodies and unmodified aptamers, are often selected under generic conditions and therefore lack robustness when exposed to complex matrices. This limits their translational potential, reproducibility, and scalability. Furthermore, existing selection technologies offer limited flexibility to tailor binders to the exact requirements of a given target and application. There is a clear unmet need for a programmable molecular recognition platform that enables the generation of highly specific, stable DNA binders customized to the target and the intended use environment from the outset, rather than retrofitted after selection.
Technology
We have developed a modular aptamer discovery platform based on engineered nucleotide building blocks that expand DNA-binding functionalities. Target-customized libraries are generated and selected under application-specific conditions, ensuring that binders are optimized for their intended diagnostic or therapeutic environment. This enables the creation of highly specific, stable, and robust aptamers “personalized” to each target and use case, overcoming key limitations of conventional selection approaches.
Commercial Opportunity
There is strong demand for diagnostics that deliver high sensitivity, specificity, and robustness across diverse targets and assay conditions. Our platform generates target-personalized DNA binders, chemically tailored for each diagnostic target and assay environment, addressing the unmet need for challenging or emerging biomarkers. Compared to traditional antibodies, aptamers are more stable, fully synthetic, scalable, and capable of binding difficult or small targets, providing superior performance in complex diagnostic settings. This positions us to capture significant opportunities in oncology, infectious disease, and multiplexed diagnostics, while enabling rapid assay development, proprietary diagnostic kits, and partnership-driven commercialization.
Development Status
Technology developed. Applying for relevant biomarkers.
Patent Situation
in preparation
Further Reading
The feasibility and performance of our technology have been demonstrated (currently in preprint, doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7946390/v1), presenting proof-of-concept for a subset of our engineered aptamer platform. In this work, aptamers generated using our approach showed high target specificity and sub-nanomolar binding affinity, confirming that target-customized libraries and application-relevant selection can produce high-performance molecular binders. The study validates the platform’s potential for diagnostic and therapeutic applications and provides a strong scientific foundation for further development and commercialization.
