In a groundbreaking development, researchers at the University of Zurich (UZH)1 have created a novel technology that allows up to 25 antibodies to be tested simultaneously in a single mouse. This innovation, led by Markus Seeger2 from the Institute of Medical Microbiology and Johannes vom Berg3 from the Institute of Laboratory Animal Science, has the potential to significantly accelerate drug development while drastically reducing the number of laboratory animals required for preclinical testing.
Antibodies, which are proteins designed to bind to specific structures on cells or molecules, form the basis of many modern drugs. However, before these drugs can be tested on humans, they must undergo extensive preclinical testing in animals. Traditionally, each antibody candidate is tested individually in laboratory animals, leading to a high demand for animal models and raising ethical concerns about animal use in research.
The UZH team has now overcome a major limitation in this process. Previously, only up to four active ingredients could be tested simultaneously in a single animal. By leveraging a unique barcoding system, the researchers have expanded this capacity to 25 antibodies per mouse.
How It Works: Protein Fragments as Barcodes
The key to this breakthrough lies in the use of protein fragments called “flycodes,” which act as molecular barcodes. Each antibody is tagged with a unique flycode, allowing researchers to administer a mixture of antibodies to a mouse and later analyze their individual properties from complex plasma or tissue samples. This method ensures that the antibodies’ behavior—such as their binding precision, tissue accumulation, and release rates—can be studied in detail without interference from other antibodies in the mixture.
Read Research Article: Flycodes enable simultaneous preclinical analysis for dozens of antibodies in single cassette–dosed mice – Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) (Accessed on March 19, 2025)
- Testing 25 antibodies simultaneously in one mouse – University of Zurich (UZH) (Accessed on March 19, 2025) ↩︎
- Prof. Dr. Markus Seeger -Institute of Medical Microbiology – University of Zurich (UZH) ↩︎
- Dr. Johannes vom Berg – Institute of Laboratory Animal Science – University of Zurich (UZH) ↩︎
