Novo Holdings invests into standardisation of LC-MS-based proteomics

Novo Holdings, the investment arm of Nordisk A/S has invested €40m in the eight-years-old clinical proteomics specialist Ecosep Aps to benefit from the advancement of the company's LC-MS platform that allows highly reproducible diagnostic protein panel analyses and is set to enable sensitive and high-throughput proteome-based drug discovery and biomarker/target identification in the future. Ecosep said it will expand its global presence, particularly in the rapidly growing US market. According to Novo Nordisk, the global market for clinical diagnostics alone is estimated to yield revenues of more than €50bn per year.

For years the inter- and intralaboratory reproducibility of proteome analyses has been a challenge for researchers and the industry. Evosep has developed an automated LC-MS platform that is highly reproducible and offers a throughput of 30 to 500 samples per day with almost no hands-on time. The company's goal, however, is to make sample separation 100 times more robust and 10 times faster than alternative protein analysis techniques. “Evosep’s technology can profoundly impact the diagnosis and treatment of diseases," said Stephen Van Helden, the Principal of Novo Holdings, who will join Evosep’s Board of Directors. "Its platform addresses some of the most common technical pain points that have historically held back the widespread application of proteomics.”

Currently, the Evosep One instrument is for Research Use Only. However, once approved for diagnostic applications it holds the potential to carry out multi protein marker tests in one run thereby improving the diagnosis of complex diseases and antibiotic-resistant bacteria.