Rights from the Cancer Research Technology’s allow the firm to create antibody conjugates.

Innova Biosciences and Cancer Research Technology (CRT), the commercialization arm of Cancer Research UK, signed a license agreement they hope will lead to the development new cancer research tools.


The deal, centered on the development of antibody conjugates against novel oncology targets, will give Innova access to antibodies developed by CRT laboratories. Innova will use these antibodies in combination with its labels for the development of a portfolio of antibody conjugate tools, primarily for cancer-related research, says Brian Carpenter, Innova’s sales and marketing manager.


Established in 2002, U.K.-based Innova specializes in bioconjugation technologies, products, and services.  The company’s one-step conjugation method, Lightning-Link™, directionally couples the antibody to the label (and not to itself) in a controlled manner, to create high-quality stable conjugates, Innova claims. The technology involves no separation steps and requires hands-on time of less than 30 seconds. Recovery of antibody is claimed to be close to 100%. The first Lightning-Link kit was launched in 2006, and there are now 44 kits available from Innova, Carpenter adds.


In addition to its Lightning Link kits, Innova exploits its technologies via a range of services. These include its Fast & FAb™ Antibody Conjugation Service, through which the company labels microgram to milligram amounts of a customer’s antibody within 48 hours. Conjugate performance can also be optimized using Innova’s Micro-optimizer™ technology. PerfectSCALE allows conjugates produced using the company’s micro-optimization™ technology to be scaled over many orders of magnitude without the need for extensive process re-development.

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