ProImmune and the Roslin Institute Collaborate to Advance Animal Health Science

Partnership will validate high quality, species-specific Ankyron binders for key animal health science applications, including prevention and monitoring of zoonotic diseases

OXFORD, England & EDINBURGH, Scotland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ProImmune Ltd, a global leader in immunological reagents and services, today announced a collaboration with the University of Edinburgh’s Roslin Institute to advance veterinary immunology research through development and validation of novel species-specific Ankyron^® binders. Increased understanding of animal health through the application of ProImmune’s proprietary Ankyron binding technology will enable development of new strategies for prevention, control, and diagnosis, of both veterinary and zoonotic diseases, overcoming challenges associated with the limited availability of high-quality, species-specific research reagents.

Under the agreement, the Roslin Institute will use its in-depth knowledge of the animal health field to present target proteins where reagent availability is lacking and urgently required. ProImmune will then generate highly target-specific Ankyron binders for targets across porcine, bovine, avian, and salmonid species to be used in key research applications, including flow cytometry and immunofluorescence imaging, in particular where there are no research antibodies available. Identified using ProImmune’s high-throughput, in vitro screening platform, Ankyrons are small (~15 kDa), high-specificity binding proteins that enable rapid and cost-effective discovery against broad panels of protein targets across a wide variety of species.

Data on validated Ankyron binders will be made available through the Immunological Toolbox website. The resource is a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)-funded initiative between the Roslin and Pirbright Institutes dedicated to expanding and enhancing the tools available to the veterinary immunology research community. Researchers across the field will then be able to easily access this reagent library, expanding the range of achievable techniques and streamlining research processes.

Professor Jayne Hope, Professor of Immunology at the Roslin Institute, said: “Ankyrons are transforming reagent availability and accessibility across veterinary research and the wider life sciences community. A relative lack of research tools has hampered progress in veterinary immunology: the availability of Ankyrons will help to enable these studies and fill important gaps in the immune reagent portfolio.”

“This collaboration represents an important step toward the development of research tools which support sustainable farming, strengthen global food security, and improve the control of zoonotic diseases,” said Dr. Nikolai Schwabe, CEO of ProImmune. “By adopting a holistic view of animal and human health, this work aligns closely with the WHO One Health approach and helps lay the foundations for a healthier and more resilient future for both animals and people alike.”