Sapient has launched its Tumor Protein Mapping Platform, a suite of mass spectrometry-based discovery proteomics workflows designed to characterize functional tumor biology in human tumor tissue.
The platform maps four dimensions of tumor biology: the druggable cell surface proteome, phosphorylation-driven signaling pathways, the tumor immune microenvironment, and therapeutic resistance mechanisms. Sapient has made the platform available to biopharma sponsors. The suite includes four workflows: SurfaceSeek™, SignalingSeek™, ImmuneSeek™, and ResistanceSeek™. Each workflow supports fresh-frozen and FFPE human tumor samples.
SurfaceSeek identifies proteins deployed on the tumor cell surface. Sapient designed the workflow to support identification and validation of druggable targets for ADC, T-cell engager, and radioligand therapies. It combines mass spectrometry-based discovery proteomics with selective enrichment of mature N-linked glycoproteins. This approach preferentially identifies proteins that have completed intracellular trafficking and reached the extracellular surface.
SurfaceSeek characterizes surface target accessibility, density, and tumor selectivity. It also provides peptide-level resolution to identify protein isoforms and post-translationally modified proteoforms bearing extracellular domains compatible with therapeutic binding.
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The platform’s other workflows extend this view of tumor biology. SignalingSeek quantifies tumor signaling pathway activation by measuring phosphorylation events across oncogenic pathways. ImmuneSeek measures functionally active tumor immune cells and immune pathways driving therapeutic response or suppression. ResistanceSeek identifies coordinated protein networks through which tumors adapt to therapeutic pressure across modalities.
Jeramie Watrous, PhD, Co-Founder and Head of Analytical R&D at Sapient, framed the launch around direct protein-level characterization. "Building upon our next-generation FFPE Proteomics offering, we have developed specialized workflows that enable precise, multi-dimensional characterization of tumor biology at the protein level—and directly in human tumor tissue."
Watrous highlighted FFPE compatibility as a key technical advance. "The key technical innovation is that these workflows—including SurfaceSeek's selective glycoprotein enrichment and SignalingSeek's deep phosphoproteomics—perform with exceptional concordance in both fresh-frozen and FFPE samples."
Sapient positions the platform as a way to support oncology drug development teams with direct protein-level measurement of tumor biology.
Mo Jain, MD, PhD, Founder and Chief Scientific Officer at Sapient, emphasized the complexity of tumor biology. "Tumors are not defined by a single biological dimension."
Jain connected that complexity to drug response. "By mapping each of these dimensions directly at the protein level, we give drug development teams a comprehensive, unified view of what is actually governing drug response—moving oncology development beyond genomic inference alone, adding new layers of insight derived from the direct measurement of dynamic human tumor biology."
Sapient offers all four workflows as standalone services or in combination for integrated tumor characterization. The workflows may also use Sapient’s DynamiQ™ Tumor-Tissue virtual biobank, which provides access to annotated FFPE tumors and tissues.
This article is based on a press release issued by Sapient.
