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Scalable High Quality Aptamer Generation via Chemically-Augmented Particle Display

Award Number: R44GM123822
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF GENERAL MEDICAL SCIENCES
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 07/14/2017
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 05/31/2021

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Scalable High Quality Aptamer Generation via Chemically-Augmented Particle Display - ABSTRACT Nucleic acid aptamers have shown great promise as the synthetic alternative to monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) in therapeutics, diagnostics, and R&D tools. Despite their key advantages of chemical and thermal stability, consistent quality, sequenceability and amplifiability, aptamers are used far less widely than mAbs, primarily due to poor performance in real-life applications. The root of the aptamer performance problem lies in the limited chemical diversity offered by the 4 natural nucleic acid bases, in contrast to the 20 different amino acids composing antibody. Fortunately, as a synthetic scaffold, aptamers have the potential to incorporate a broad range of chemical diversity through use of modified nucleotides. However, due to fundamental limitations of selection-based discovery methods (SELEX), chemically modified aptamers are just beginning to scratch the surface, and have been largely limited to a single type of modification - deoxyuracil carrying hydrophobic functional groups. The potential of a broad range of modified bases for aptamer discovery and application is yet uncharted. We propose to develop Chemically-Augmented Particle Display (CAPD), a novel approach that enables us to discover modified aptamers with a broad range of chemical diversity that exhibit greatly improved affinity, specificity, stability in biological media and the capability serve as a viable alternative to antibodies in real-world applications. Our method has the potential to screen a wide range of distinct chemically modified aptamer libraries, wherein we measure the affinity and specificity of every aptamer candidate and explicitly isolate the highest performance binders with the best chemical modifications. In phase I, we will develop the CAPD platform and validate aptamers generated with it in standard ELISA assays in serum and compare to natural DNA aptamers and commercial mAbs. In phase II, we will then develop a production pipeline to create and validate an initial catalog of aptamer pairs to address unmet needs in the research and diagnostics markets. We will deliver aptamer pairs for no less than 30 priority targets (identified by our customers and healthcare stakeholders) for use in point of care diagnostics and research assays as which are severely underserved by antibodies. We will make all these aptamers immediately available for research and diagnostics markets. If successful, we believe CAPD will revolutionize aptamer discovery, and enable synthetic aptamers to achieve mainstream adoption in biomedical research, diagnostics and therapeutics.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $0 )
2022	2019	APTITUDE MEDICAL SYSTEMS, INC.	125 CREMONA DR # 100	GOLETA	CA	93117	SANTA BARBARA	USA	Biomedical Research and Research Training	000	3	11/7/2021	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $0

Issue Date FY: 2019 ( Subtotal = $534,143 )
2019	2019	APTITUDE MEDICAL SYSTEMS, INC.	2219 BATH ST	SANTA BARBARA	CA	93105	SANTA BARBARA	USA	Biomedical Research and Research Training	000	3	5/30/2019	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$534,143
														Subtotal = $534,143

Issue Date FY: 2018 ( Subtotal = $1,146,146 )
2018	2018	APTITUDE MEDICAL SYSTEMS, INC.	2219 BATH ST	SANTA BARBARA	CA	93105	SANTA BARBARA	USA	Biomedical Research and Research Training	001	2	6/4/2018	EXTENSION WITH OR WITHOUT FUNDS	$918,746
2018	2018	APTITUDE MEDICAL SYSTEMS, INC.	2219 BATH ST	SANTA BARBARA	CA	93105	SANTA BARBARA	USA	Biomedical Research and Research Training	002	2	9/7/2018	EXTENSION WITH OR WITHOUT FUNDS	$0
2018	2018	APTITUDE MEDICAL SYSTEMS, INC.	2219 BATH ST	SANTA BARBARA	CA	93105	SANTA BARBARA	USA	Biomedical Research and Research Training	003	2	9/10/2018	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	$227,400
2018	2017	APTITUDE MEDICAL SYSTEMS, INC.	2219 BATH ST	SANTA BARBARA	CA	93105	SANTA BARBARA	USA	Biomedical Research and Research Training	000	1	5/10/2018	NEW	$0
														Subtotal = $1,146,146

Issue Date FY: 2017 ( Subtotal = $223,840 )
2017	2017	APTITUDE MEDICAL SYSTEMS, INC.	2219 BATH ST	SANTA BARBARA	CA	93105	SANTA BARBARA	USA	Biomedical Research and Research Training	000	1	7/14/2017	NEW	$223,840
														Subtotal = $223,840

Grand Total All Awards = $1,904,129

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Scalable High Quality Aptamer Generation via Chemically-Augmented Particle Display

Award Number: R44GM123822

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF GENERAL MEDICAL SCIENCES

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 07/14/2017

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 05/31/2021

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