AlphaThera was Co-founded by Dr. Andrew Tsourkas and Dr. James Hui in 2016.

Dr. Andrew Tsourkas is a Professor of Bioengineering and Head of the Targeted Imaging, Therapeutics and Nanomedicine (TITAN) lab at the University of Pennsylvania. Much of his early work revolved around the development of nanoparticles for use in the imaging and/or treatment of various diseases, including cancer, atherosclerosis, and autoimmune diseases. However, efforts in scaling-up of these particles or expanding this work into new fields were severely limited by the low efficiency attachment of the targeting antibodies, which are often expensive and limited in quantity, onto surfaces such as nanoparticles. Therefore, he set out to develop new technologies that would not only improve the efficiency of the bioconjugation reaction but would also provide control over the orientation of proteins and antibodies on surface to maximize antibody activity.

James Hui joined the lab of Dr. Tsourkas, while he was an M.D./Ph.D. student at the University of Pennsylvania and he spearheaded the idea of using photoreactive antibody-binding domains to site-specifically label the heavy chain of Immunoglobulin G (IgG).

Through these efforts, they developed the technology of LASIC (Light Assisted Site-specific Conjugation) and the family of reagents that are now known as oYo-Link®. Given the prevalent and critical roles of antibody in biomedical research and the limitations of the existing chemical conjugation methods, Drs. Tsourkas and Hui immediately saw the potential of oYo-Link® in helping countless scientists achieve their research goals.

This led to the formation of AlphaThera. The company’s team of scientists and business leaders has since grown to engage the commercial space.