In early 2023, Cytiva announced the results of the Dx Challenge, a competition for immunoassay rapid test developers. For this particular challenge, we were searching for an innovative test-development project for which no simple test is commercially available. The proposals had to be immunoassay applications that used lateral-flow, flow-through, dipstick, or line blot platforms.
And the winner is . . . Ubique Biotech! Ubique Biotech is a small, startup company dedicated to making diagnostics affordable and accessible for people around the world. With just nine team members, the company is developing innovative immunoassays for point-of-care use and use in other decentralized locations.
Ubique Biotech’s mission and goals for multiplex, lateral-flow tests
Ubique’s focus is the design and production of synthetic peptides for diagnostic purposes. Synthetic peptides are sequences of up to 50 amino acids that can selectively bind to proteins. Their use in diagnostic tests has advantages over the use of antibodies to detect proteins. Antibodies do not always have a uniform structure and can become inactive over time. Synthetic peptides, on the other hand, can be produced with high purity and uniformity and are thermostable. Synthetic peptides are also less expensive to manufacture, which aligns with Ubique’s goal of affordability and accessibility.
Ubique Bio entered the Dx Challenge because they want to incorporate their synthetic peptides into multiplex, rapid, lateral-flow tests. They went into the competition hoping to get answers to two key questions:
- What is the best way to incorporate the synthetic peptides into a test strip?
- What is the most efficient way to multiplex the strip?
Tell them what they won!
The grand prize of the competition was a three-day coaching session with the Cytiva diagnostics team. Ubique’s Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer, Angelita Lorenzo, traveled to Dassel, Germany and met with Klaus Hochleitner, Global Product Specialist for Diagnostics and Sarah Zachmann, Senior Diagnostic Scientist. Angelita called the experience “truly transformative.”
During her sessions in Dassel, Angelita got the answers to Ubique’s questions and gained a lot of knowledge about developing lateral-flow assays including crucial information that she hadn’t found in scientific papers. She and Klaus worked collaboratively through in-depth discussions and by exchanging ideas. “Cytiva experts added significant value to our ideas giving us a clearer perspective to our objectives and future directions,” Angelita said. She also credits the coaching sessions with saving her company around one month of development time.
You can be a winner too!
Angelita praised Klaus and his team for their expertise and support and recommends that other companies participate in future Dx Challenges. But as Klaus points out, diagnostic test developers are always welcome to work with the Cytiva diagnostics team. We’re always happy to share knowledge and support developers – we don’t require them to win a competition. “Come to us with your ideas!” Klaus said. “We will teach you how to set up lateral-flow tests, we can support you in your test development, and you will … get your test faster to the market.”
So, look out for the next Dx Challenge or contact us to set up your own coaching sessions. Klaus promises that it won’t be all work – “there’s also a bit of fun!”