End-to-End Antibody Discovery, Built Around Your Target

No single discovery platform suits every target. Conserved antigens, GPCRs, and multi-pass membrane proteins each break a different approach — so we start by choosing the route that fits the biology, not the one that fits our schedule. Immunization strategy, host species, and screening funnel are all designed around your antigen before a single animal is dosed.

Four integrated platforms — hybridoma, phage display, single B cell cloning, and affinity maturation — configured to the biology of your program. One team, from immunization to lead candidate.

One Partner. Multiple Discovery Paths.

Antibody discovery rarely follows a single trajectory. Target class, format, timeline, and developability requirements shape which platform fits your program.

ChemPartner integrates four complementary technologies, backed by in-house protein science, stable cell line development, functional assays, and structural biology. We configure the right approach for your target and transition between platforms when the science calls for it.

Antibodies Produced Annually

4,000+

Scientific Team Members

80+

Drugs to FDA/NDA Approval

Global Clients Served

4,000+

Capability Modules

Deep Immunization Expertise for Diverse Target Classes

ChemPartner’s hybridoma platform combines comprehensive immunization strategies with a multi-tiered, high-throughput screening funnel.

We support mouse, rat, rabbit, hamster, alpaca/llama/camel, and fully human transgenic mice (Alloy; AceMouse) across a full range of immunogen formats — including recombinant proteins, cells, DNA, peptides, nanodisc, mRNA-LNP, VLP, and AAV particles — to maximize the probability of discovering high-affinity antibodies against any target class, including conserved and conformationally complex antigens.

Key Capabilities

Immunization Breadth

Multi-species immunization: mouse, rat, rabbit, hamster, alpaca/camel, fully human Tg mice (Alloy; AceMouse)
Full immunogen flexibility: recombinant proteins, cells, peptides, DNA, mRNA-LNP, VLP, nanodisc, AAV
Tolerance-breaking strategies (Anti-CD25, Anti-CD40, CpG, Mn²⁺) for conserved targets

Screening Funnel

384-plate high-throughput primary screening (Mirrorball/Acumen) against protein and cell-based antigens
Multi-stage funnel: confirmatory FACS → cyno/mouse cross-reactivity → isoform selectivity → receptor-ligand blocking → functional assay
Functional assay-driven subcloning, leads selected on biology, not binding titer alone

Instrumentation

BD Canto II, ForteBio Octet RED384, BD LSRFortessa, Carterra LSA, Freedom EVO, EL406

Proprietary, Royalty-Free Libraries for Any Format 

ChemPartner’s phage display platform is built around proprietary, royalty-free antibody and peptide libraries — giving clients complete freedom to operate on resulting candidates without licensing encumbrance.

Libraries span naive, synthetic, and immune formats covering human scFv, VHH (nanobody), and peptide modalities, with combined diversity exceeding 10¹⁰ PFU per library. 

Key Capabilities

Library Portfolio 

Solution-phase panning against biotinylated target proteins and/or overexpressing cell lines

pH-dependent and epitope-biased panning strategies

Primary screening: ELISA; secondary: off-rate ranking (ForteBio Octet)

Total project timeline: 12–16 weeks to confirmed, characterized hits

Affinity optimization libraries: alanine/histidine scanning, CDR-targeted mutagenesis

Platform Capabilities 

Solution-phase panning against biotinylated target proteins and/or overexpressing cell lines

pH-dependent and epitope-biased panning strategies

Primary screening: ELISA; secondary: off-rate ranking (ForteBio Octet)

Total project timeline: 12–16 weeks to confirmed, characterized hits

Affinity optimization libraries: alanine/histidine scanning, CDR-targeted mutagenesis

Royalty note

All ChemPartner phage display libraries are proprietary and royalty-free. Clients own all resulting IP without licensing cost or restriction — a critical differentiator vs. commercial library providers.

Functional Antibodies in Days, Not Weeks 

ChemPartner’s Boston Center of Excellence operates the Beacon™ platform — one of the most powerful tools in antibody discovery for identifying rare, functionally active antibodies directly from single B cells.

The system uses light-based optofluidic technology to manipulate thousands of individual B cells in parallel, running binding and functional assays in-pen before committing to cloning.

Key Capabilities

What We do best

In-pen binding and blocking assays: 4 hours to overnight from cell load to exported hits

Functional hit identification (blocking, signaling, agonism/antagonism) in 1 day

Multiplex or sequential assay capability within a single run

Thousands of individual cells screened in parallel — rare clones that would be diluted out in hybridoma are captured

Direct sequence recovery from functional B cell clones

Proven Advantage vs. Hybridoma 

In a head-to-head PD-L1 comparison, single B cell cloning via Beacon delivered significantly more functional antibodies than hybridoma — from the same immunization, in less time to sequence.

Published: Rapid discovery of a diverse panel of novel cross-reactive antibodies against uPAR in triple-negative breast cancer — antibodies that hybridoma missed. Khan et al., MABS 2023, 15(1):2184197. DOI: 10.1080/19420862.2023.2184197

Structure-Guided Engineering to Push Your Lead to Therapeutic Grade 

Once leads are identified, ChemPartner’s engineering team applies rational design and library-based strategies to drive affinity, selectivity, and developability to IND-enabling specifications. Structure-based computational approaches work in concert with phage display affinity libraries and biophysical characterization to achieve multi-order-of-magnitude improvements. 

Key Capabilities

Expertise Perform

Alanine and histidine scanning mutagenesis to map permissive CDR sites

Structure-based, computation-aided affinity maturation

CDR-targeted affinity library generation and phage display-driven optimization

Up to 295-fold improvement in peptide affinity maturation (SPR-validated)

70-fold affinity improvement demonstrated for IL-1β mAb — combining mutations from two CDRs (ChemPartner Patent CN104341501B)

42.8-fold improvement in mono-cyclic peptide affinity maturation

Integrated Developability Assessment 

Developability screening is embedded throughout the maturation process — not applied as a late-stage filter. Assessment covers: in silico hotspot analysis and immunogenicity prediction; biophysical profiling (SEC, DSF, HIC-HPLC, AC-SINS, Uncle); polyspecificity (BVP/dsDNA/insulin ELISA); freeze-thaw, pH, thermal, and high-concentration stability.

One Platform. Seamlessly Integrated.

Antibody discovery doesn’t end at hit identification. ChemPartner’s program architecture means your antibody moves from discovery through lead optimization, developability screening, and into protein production — without switching partners, restarting assays, or losing institutional knowledge about your target.

From a single point of contact, you get full scientific depth at every stage — and continuity from the scientist who ran your first ELISA to the one who authors your IND module.

Integrated Capabilities

Antigen production: 800+ proteins produced annually across E. coli, mammalian (Expi293, ExpiCHO), insect, and yeast systems

In vitro functional assays: FACS, SPR (Biacore), BLI (Octet RED384), reporter assays, primary immune cell assays

Bispecific and multispecific antibody generation: 10+ engineering formats supported

Stable cell line development: overexpression lines for immunization and screening (8–14 weeks from sequence)

Biophysical characterization: Carterra LSA (array SPR), Uncle, AC-SINS

ADC development: from linker-payload selection through conjugation, characterization, and CMC

Structural biology: cryo-EM, X-ray crystallography

Explore the Full Range of Development and Manufacturing Capabilities

Hybridoma

Multi-species immunization and high-throughput, functionally-driven screening.

Phage Display

Royalty-free proprietary libraries. scFv, VHH, and peptide formats. IP freedom guaranteed.

B Cell Cloning

Beacon® OptoSelect™ — functional antibody identification in a single day.

Fully Human mAb

Tg mouse platforms (Alloy; AceMouse) for fully human therapeutic antibody programs.

Affinity Maturation

Structure-guided engineering. Up to 295-fold affinity improvement. IP-backed methodology.

Featured Services

Integrated discovery programs and specialty antibody services tailored to your timeline.

Ready to Discuss Your Antibody Program?

Tell us your target and timeline. Our scientists will configure the right discovery approach and get back to you within one business day.