Skip to content

Biochemistry

Biochemistry studies the molecules of life and their interactions: protein structure, affinity between partners, enzyme activity, metabolites. It is the scale at which mechanisms of action are understood and biotherapies are designed.

Inovarion has command of the main techniques for studying biomolecular interactions: immunoprecipitation, biolayer interferometry for affinity measurement, proximity ligation assay, molecular docking. Mass spectrometry (proteomics and metabolomics) and protein characterisation complete this set. Antibody engineering holds a special place: nanobodies (single-domain antibodies) and bispecific antibodies are the subject of marked know-how, from design to the measurement of their binding and neutralisation properties.

This expertise is illustrated in several projects. Inovarion’s researchers contributed to developing a nanobody directed against the A3 domain of von Willebrand factor, able to detect the proteolysis induced by ADAMTS13 in von Willebrand disease[4], and single-domain anti-antithrombin antibodies reducing bleeding in haemophilia models, with or without inhibitors[9]. On the humoral-immunity side, affinity and neutralisation measurement made it possible to characterise memory B cells and the antibodies produced after vaccination, notably against SARS-CoV-2 and its variants[7]. A portable amperometric biosensor, dedicated to monitoring lipolysis, finally illustrates the analytical and instrumental dimension[10]. These contributions have appeared in journals such as Blood, EMBO Molecular Medicine and Immunity.

Biochemistry thus holds a pivotal place, linking molecular measurement to a therapeutic purpose — designing and characterising candidate molecules, in particular next-generation antibodies. It combines with molecular biology (production of recombinant proteins) and imaging (assays and reporters). From this know-how — biomolecular interactions, antibody engineering — Inovarion offers its partners support, from screening molecular partners to validating a biotherapeutic candidate.

See also: Proteomics & mass spectrometry ; Co-immunoprecipitation & protein interactions.

Contact an expert · See all publications

Representative publications

  1. Habbig et al. Anti-nephrin antibodies guide living donor kidney transplantation in a pediatric patient with primary focal segmental glomerular sclerosis. Kidney Int, 2025. Record → · PubMed
  2. McCluskey et al. A fully humanized von Willebrand disease type 1 mouse model as unique platform to investigate novel therapeutic options. Haematologica, 2025. Record → · PubMed
  3. Sefiane et al. Consistent clinical factor VIII equivalency is unlikely for non-factor therapies in hemophilic mice. Haematologica, 2025. Record → · PubMed
  4. Kizlik-Masson et al. A nanobody against the VWF A3 domain detects ADAMTS13-induced proteolysis in congenital and acquired VWD. Blood, 2023. Record → · PubMed
  5. Benadda et al. Activating FcγR function depends on endosomal-signaling platforms. iScience, 2023. Record → · PubMed
  6. Houy et al. Dysfunction of calcium-regulated exocytosis at a single-cell level causes catecholamine hypersecretion in patients with pheochromocytoma. Cancer Letters, 2022. Record → · PubMed
  7. Sokal et al. mRNA vaccination of naive and COVID-19-recovered individuals elicits potent memory B cells that recognize SARS-CoV-2 variants. Immunity, 2021. Record → · PubMed
  8. Muczynski et al. Complex formation with pentraxin-2 regulates factor X plasma levels and macrophage interactions. Blood, 2017. Record → · PubMed
  9. Barbon et al. Single-domain antibodies targeting antithrombin reduce bleeding in hemophilic mice with or without inhibitors. EMBO Mol Med, 2020. Record → · PubMed
  10. Degrelle et al. DietSee: An on-hand, portable, strip-type biosensor for lipolysis monitoring via real-time amperometric determination of glycerol in blood. Anal Chim Acta, 2021. Record → · PubMed