SpyLock Technology: Recent News on Rapid Bispecific Antibody Screening

SpyLock technology, developed by Bio-Rad Laboratories, enables rapid generation and high-throughput screening of bispecific antibodies, significantly accelerating the identification and validation of promising antibody candidates1 2 3.

A peer-reviewed study published in Nature Communications in July 2024 describes the engineering of SpyLock—a reversible, inhibitable mutant of the SpyCatcher protein—and its application as part of a BiLockCatcher fusion protein to streamline bispecific antibody construction1 2.

SpyLock expands the modular toolkit for antibody assembly based on the SpyTag/SpyCatcher protein ligation system, simplifying and speeding up bispecific antibody generation without traditional subcloning steps1 2 4.

The technology is now integrated into Bio-Rad's Pioneer Antibody Discovery Platform, which boasts over 200 billion unique antibody sequences for broad functional diversity, coupled with the proprietary SpyDisplay for efficient candidate selection1 5.

The expanded platform is making a significant impact in drug discovery, notably in immuno-oncology and infectious disease research, and has enabled collaborations (e.g., with Salipro Biotech) to discover novel antibodies against challenging targets3 5.

Bio-Rad’s new SpyLock-based bispecific generation and screening service, launched in 2024, allows researchers to rapidly move effective antibody combinations into drug development pipelines2 5.