NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Single-cell proteomics firm IsoPlexis said today that it has received a $4 million Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Cancer Institute.
The Branford, Connecticut-based company said that it will use the funds to commercialize its IsoLight platform for use in quality control and guidance of CAR T therapy.
"This new funding demonstrates our leadership in and commitment to advancing the future of next generation CAR T and other engineered T-cell therapies in blood cancers, solid tumor, and beyond" said Sean Mackay, IsoPlexis cofounder and CEO, in a statement.
Isoplexis's platform uses microchips featuring arrays of thousands of microchambers that isolate individual cells from samples of interest. These chambers are then sealed with a slide that is patterned with groups of antibodies in a number of different spatially isolated lines. This allows the researchers to identify proteins based on the color of fluorescence produced upon binding and the location on the slide where the binding event occurs. In this way, they can multiplex well beyond the levels allowed by fluorescence readout alone.
The company has focused thus far on single-cell analysis of T cell cytokine production, with the goal of better predicting patient response to immunotherapy.
The award follows a $1.8 million SBIR grant IsoPlexis received in 2017. The company closed a $25 million Series C funding round in May of this year.