Target discovery & validation
Advancing Target Discovery and Validation with Immunopeptidomics.
IMMUNESPEC
Accurate identification and validation
The success of next-generation vaccines, bispecific antibodies, immune-modulating therapies, and treatments for autoimmune and rare diseases depends on the accurate identification and validation of immunologically relevant and selective targets. Whether developing prophylactic vaccines to prevent infectious diseases or optimizing constructs for personalized medicine, the challenge remains: ensuring that selected antigens are biologically meaningful, highly specific, and capable of engaging the immune system effectively.
Traditional antigen discovery approaches face significant limitations:
- Intact surface proteins are prone to immune escape due to mutations
- High protein expression does not always correlate with immunogenicity or protection
- Peptide library screening is time-consuming and resource-intensive
- In silico prediction tools frequently generate false positives and overlook truly presented epitopes.
As a result, targets may be selected that are not effectively processed and presented in vivo, leading to clinical failure and high development costs.
The advantages of our immunopeptidomics platform are profound
T CELL EPITOPE DISCOVERY
The Power of Immunopeptidomics in T cell Epitope Discovery
Immunopeptidomics is the only approach that directly detects naturally processed and MHC-presented peptides, ensuring that selected targets are genuinely displayed on the cell surface. Recent advances in mass spectrometry sensitivity and bioinformatics pipelines have expanded our ability to detect a broader and more accurate repertoire of in vivo presented antigens, including post-translationally modified peptides.
By integrating immunopeptidomics with multi-omics technologies, including NGS, WGS, and Ribo-seq, developers can uncover a diverse range of biologically relevant epitopes with major implications for precision medicine.
Immunopeptidomics enables the discovery of:
- Tumor-specific and tumor-associated antigens critical for targeted immunotherapies
- Cryptic and non-canonical antigens arising from alternative reading frames and non-coding regions
- Autoantigens involved in autoimmune diseases
- Pathogen-derived T cell epitopes for prophylactic vaccine design
By focusing on in vivo presented antigens rather than predicted or arbitrary targets, immunopeptidomics improves target accuracy, increases the likelihood of therapeutic success, and supports the design of multivalent vaccines that elicit robust and durable T cell responses.
IMMUNESPEC
Trusted Partner in Immunopeptidomics-Driven Target Discovery
At ImmuneSpec, we deliver the most advanced immunopeptidomics solutions for precision medicine, vaccine development, and immunotherapy research. Our platform provides direct, experimental evidence of T cell epitope presentation, eliminating guesswork and enhancing confidence in your target selection.
✔ Discover truly presented T cell epitopes and eliminate false positives
✔ Validate naturally processed and presented antigens to guide rational therapy design.
✔ Optimize immunotherapy and vaccine pipelines across oncology, infectious disease, and autoimmunity
Our offer
- Direct Identification of Tumor-Specific and Tumor-Associated Antigens: Our platform identifies peptides that are naturally processed and presented by MHC molecules—ensuring immune relevance and providing a solid foundation for effective immunotherapies, beyond the limitations of prediction-based methods
- Sequential MHC I & II Pulldown from the Same Sample: We use a unique method to isolate both MHC class I and II molecules from the same sample, maximizing data acquisition while conserving limited material. Our BSL-2 capability supports pathogen-infected samples, enabling detection of relevant epitopes for vaccine design.
- Flexible Data Acquisition Modes: We tailor peptide detection and quantification to project needs, using DDA (Data-Dependent Acquisition), DIA (Data-Independent Acquisition), or PRM (Parallel Reaction Monitoring) to ensure the most informative and reproducible dataset.
- Multi-Layered Bioinformatics for Enhanced Antigen Prioritization: We integrate immunopeptidomics data with patient-specific biological factors—such as HLA typing, tumor evolution, and microenvironmental context—to improve neoantigen prediction accuracy and clinical relevance.
- Sensitive Detection from Primary or Diseased Cells: Our high-sensitivity workflow supports epitope discovery and validation directly from primary patient-derived or diseased cells, ensuring results reflect real biological conditions.