PULSE Challenge: The Discovery of Seqitope and Opti-mAb Technologies
February 12, 2026 @ 15:00 – 16:00 CET
The Seqitope® and Opti-Mab® technologies originated from projects together with SciLifeLab DDD. Seqitope® is a high-resolution epitope mapping platform that combines large-scale wet-lab screening with advanced bioinformatics. By utilizing phage display of libraries containing millions of mutated antigen variants, it goes far beyond classical alanine scanning. The platform uses next-generation sequencing to generate millions of reads per antibody, providing exceptional resolution. While initially mapping 30 antibodies manually, Seqitope® is now automation-compatible, scaling to hundreds of antibodies simultaneously. Validated on targets like CD19 and IL8, it generates data sets ideal for machine learning in antibody discovery.
Additionally, we introduce Opti-mAb®, engineered single-chain variable fragments (scFvs) designed to solve common issues like aggregation, low expression, and instability. These novel formats enhance therapeutic development for bispecific antibodies and cell-based therapies. Together, Seqitope® and Opti-mAb® represent a significant leap in the scalability and precision of antibody engineering.
Host: Kristian Sandberg
Moderator: Anna Ridderstad Wollberg
The seminar series PULSE Challenge is connected to the MSCA co-funded* postdoctoral program SciLifeLab PULSE, that will train 48 future leaders in life sciences. The program focuses on innovative, fundamental and translational research carried out in supportive and diverse academic and industrial environments, preparing postdocs with necessary skills for long-term career sustainability. Click HERE to find out more about SciLifeLab PULSE
On-line event via Zoom
Presenters:
Dr. Daniel Johansson, PhD and CSO at AAX Biotech
Biography:
Dr. Daniel Johansson, Chief Scientific Officer at AAX Biotech, where he has been actively involved for the past three years in developing novel antibody technologies. He earned his Ph.D. in molecular immunology from the Karolinska Institute, with a focus on antibody discovery and engineering. With over 20 years of experience across academia and the biotech industry, he co-founded AAX Biotech to translate solutions developed during a drug discovery and development (DDD) project into broadly applicable technologies. These efforts resulted in two proprietary platforms: Seqitope, enabling high resolution, high throughput epitope mapping, and Opti-mAb, facilitating high quality production of scFvs in CAR-T and bispecific antibodies—tools now positioned to support researchers and companies worldwide.
Dr. Mats AA Persson, PhD, KI and co-founder of AAX Biotech
Biography:
Dr Mats Persson has worked with molecular biology tools at Karolinska Institutet to generate, characterize and engineer human monoclonal antibodies since a post doc period at Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, USA, in the late 1980-ies. In particular, he has been focusing on applying the techniques for studying anti-viral antibodies. This led him to co-found Molecules of Man AB in 2005, a start-up devoted to commercialize antibodies to hepatitis C virus (HCV) for clinical use. However, those antibodies were overtaken by highly efficient small molecule drugs (inhibiting the virus’s own enzymes), and thus did not reach the market. Undeterred, he suggested a new infectious target for development of human antibodies at DDD. During this project, technical hurdles were encountered that gave rise to novel solutions. And by now, human monoclonal antibodies had revolutionized the pharma industry, with biopharma being the real driver for hundreds if not thousands of novel drugs. Indeed, it was not farfetched that solutions to problems shared by scores of biopharma projects could be worthwhile to explore commercially: AAX Biotech was born and incorporated for this purpose.
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