Abterra Biosciences is a unique CRO offering antibody sequencing and discovery services. We bring sophisticated algorithmic and machine learning approaches to enable accurate antibody sequencing and functional antibody discovery.
Abterra Biosciences began life as Digital Proteomics LLC, a spin-out of the University of California – San Diego. Founders Pavel Pevzner and Vineet Bafna are professors in the Computer Science and Engineering Department and leading researchers in bioinformatics. Their expertise formed the algorithmic foundation of our proprietary analysis software used in our services: Reptor, Valens, and Alicanto.
With Reptor platform, we use next-generation sequencing to obtain antibody sequences from hybridomas, single B cells, bulk B cells, and tissue. Using deep sequencing, we discover minor clones, track clones across time and tissues, and construct lineages of clones undergoing affinity maturation.
When the source B cell is not available, we offer Valens for protein antibody sequencing. We use mass spectrometry to recover the full monoclonal antibody sequence directly from the protein. We have over 10 years of experience sequencing monoclonal antibodies from a variety of species including mouse, human, rat, and hamster.
Alicanto is a platform for custom antibody discovery that mines the complete antibody repertoire. Alicanto selects functional antibodies with desired properties such as species cross-reactivity, enzyme active-site inhibition, competition with another antibody for target binding, or activity in a particular buffer or condition. Custom antibody discovery with Alicanto can be applied to rabbits, camelids such as llama or alpaca, and humans.