ThirdLaw_Molecular LLC

ThirdLaw Molecular LLC

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
- Arthur C. Clarke

We are developing a powerful new molecular recognition technology that will enable the sensitive and selective detection of any biological threat, infection, biomarker of a health condition, environmental toxin, or disease, anywhere, at a low cost.

It is an arduous process to identify suitable antibodies for diagnostic devices. Antibodies are large, fragile proteins requiring a cold chain and careful handling to maintain their activity. They are difficult to manufacture with good quality control and suffer from batch-to-batch variability. Antibodies have high manufacturing costs. Antibodies are astounding molecules that have evolved over billions of years to detect and protect us from disease. Antibodies did not evolve to be robust components in point-of-care diagnostic devices.

Spiroligomers are synthetic molecules made from modular, cyclic, stereochemically pure building blocks that display sidechains like amino acids. We join these building blocks together through pairs of amide bonds to create robust ladder molecules with the programmable display of side chains from their backbone. At ThirdLaw Molecular LLC, we have synthesized more than 2.5 million spiroligomer nanostructures large enough to wrap around protein surfaces and recognize them selectively with high affinity. Spiroligomers act as artificial antibodies, capable of binding proteins with specificity. We are incorporating spiroligomers into lateral flow assays and advanced, robust, multiplexed, sensitive and selective sensor-coupled diagnostic devices where conventional antibodies are inadequate.

We are developing spiroligomer nanostructures to advance beyond monoclonal antibodies in point-of-care diagnostic tests.

Overview

Molecular diagnostics

We are developing molecules called spiroligomers that will replace monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) in point-of-care diagnostic tests. Spiroligomers are much more robust than mAbs and they will remain active for decades. Spiroligomers are made with synthetic chemistry, and they have lower capital costs for manufacture. Spiroligomers are much smaller than mAbs and they can bind epitopes that mAbs cannot access. Active spiroligomers can be discovered and manufactured for diagnostic tests with a few weeks' work.

Who we are

ThirdLaw Molecular LLC is a new company centered around a passionate and highly qualified team who have a unique and deep expertise in synthetic and computational chemistry, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, biologics and medical devices.

What we do

ThirdLaw develops spiroligomers to solve some of the toughest challenges of pharmaceutical, biotech and drug discovery. ThirdLaw is developing molecules that combine the good pharmaceutical properties of small molecules with the exquisite selectivity and affinity of peptides and proteins.

How we do it

We have developed a powerful new synthetic platform to create diverse spiroligomers on demand and the software tools to design these complex molecules for applications in diagnostics. This work is in partnership with Temple University in Philadelphia PA and the Schafmeister group that developed both spiroligomer synthetic technology.