KVAL: An LPS-binding protein for endotoxin detection and removal

ducts. Current regulations require that all of the mentioned products are certified ?endotoxin free? prior to distribution. Consequently, there is a large industry aimed at endotoxin testing. The leading commercial solution, the limulus amebocyte lysate (LAL) assay, is based on an extract of from the blood of the horseshoe crab. Because of the great demand for endotoxin tests, the crabs are currently being overharvested on a global scale, which has lead to calls for alternative testing methods. We have discovered a peptide that binds endotoxins with a higher affinity than any other known compound, and that can bind endotoxins isolated from different bacterial species. These properties makes the peptide an ideal candidate for designing endotoxins tests that can compete with current commercial products, as well as solutions aimed at endotoxin removal from different samples. Since the peptide can be synthesized in the laboratory at low cost, it is 100% sustainable, and a cheaper alternative to the current LAL-assay. We will in this project first demonstrate that the peptide can conceptually be utilized to measure endotoxins with equal or better sensitivity than current commercial solutions. We will then design a prototype assay to show that the peptide binds specifically to endotoxins isolated from a wide selection of Gram-negative species. Completion of the mentioned products will demonstrate that the peptide has commercialization potential for further development in cooperation with industry partners

This project has indeed lead to an agreement with a company, and a deal has been signed between UiO, Inven2, and the company (the company does not wish to be named publicly at this stage). This is why we are prematurely stopping this KVAL project: the company finds this research now since January 2021. This deal has worked out much faster than expected! The agreement with the company includes financing of further research for proof of concept (4-5 months) and if proof of concept is achieved, a licensing agreement will automatically start.