NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) — Startup Proteona announced today that it has acquired an exclusive worldwide license to a novel sequencing-based technology for protein analysis from the National University of Singapore (NUS).
According to Proteona, the technology — called enhanced single-cell analysis with protein expression, or ESCAPE — uses DNA-barcoded antibodies to enable single-cell RNA sequencing platforms to detect and quantify protein expression. The resulting combination of RNA and proteomic data can be used to characterize cell populations based on surface markers and cellular genomic processes, the Singapore-based NUS spinout said.
Specific terms of the license were not disclosed.
"We have validated large sets of DNA barcoded antibodies that can be added to any single-cell RNA sequencing experiment," Proteona CEO Andreas Schmidt said in a statement. "Insights gained from multi-dimensional profiling of the immune system can aid therapeutic design and treatment approaches in oncology, hematology, [and] immunology, as well as autoimmune and other diseases."
Schmidt added that Proteona — which also maintains operations in San Diego — will work with customers to develop the bioinformatics tools required to analyze ESCAPE data.