Ontario Genomics invests in antibody protein sequencing company Rapid Novor

Ontario Genomics has closed an investment in Rapid Novor, a Kitchener-Waterloo based biotech company that provides rapid, accurate, de novo protein sequencing services across Canada and internationally. This was another investment from the 2017 round of the Pre-commercial Business Development Fund (PBDF), which supports commercially promising ‘omics technologies.

To date, Rapid Novor has offered monoclonal antibody protein sequencing to biopharmaceutical companies and academic labs where antibody development is key to their research, e.g. immunotherapy development. The $100,000 investment from Ontario Genomics will support expansion of this proteomic and bioinformatics-based technology to enable sequencing of polyclonal antibody proteins.

Polyclonal antibody sequencing services are not readily available, so the development of this technology will address an unmet need for many R&D groups. Dr. Bin Ma, President and Co-founder of Rapid Novor commented: “Our existing clients are already asking us to sequence polyclonal antibodies, so this funding from Ontario Genomics will enable us to meet this demand. Our aim is to be the first to develop a validated polyclonal antibody protein sequencing technology for our clients. This will ultimately expand our service offerings, increase our competitiveness and allow us to grow our Ontario-based company.”

The primary aim of this Ontario Genomics investment program is to support the development of ‘omics technologies towards commercial applications, to speed up the path from R&D to market, thereby driving economic value. “Through this investment, Ontario Genomics is enabling the development and commercialization of an omics-based technology that is prone to fill a gap in current antibody sequencing offerings in Canada and beyond,” commented Dr. Bettina Hamelin, CEO of Ontario Genomics.

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