BioInvent International has secured a US patent for its antibody and concomitant target discovery technology F.I.R.S.T., a novel and unique discovery method, which allows for antibodies and disease targets to be identified simultaneously.

The company said that traditional drug discovery methods involve the identification of drugs candidates that bind to known disease targets.

The technology has been used in several proprietary discovery projects, while the company provides the technology and also traditional antibody discovery screening to commercial partners.

BioInvent vice president Preclinical Research Bjrn Frendeus said, "With billions of binders available in the libraries and state-of-the-art in vitro and in vivo cancer and immunological assays, we can discover antibodies with the very best properties for onward development."

The company is mainly focused on discovery and development of new antibody-based drugs against cancer and its pipeline currently includes three product candidates for the treatment of cancer.