HTG Molecular Diagnostics
De-Risking Drug Development

HTG Molecular Diagnostics, a platform-based life science tools and drug discovery company, is driven by the mission to accelerate precision medicine from diagnosis to treatment and drive translational research, novel therapeutics, and clinical diagnostics across a variety of disease areas.

Building on more than a decade of pioneering innovation and partnerships with biopharma leaders and major academic institutes, HTG has incorporated two platform technologies. The first is the HTG EdgeSeq™ transcriptome profiling platform, which enables a more comprehensive understanding of the molecular pathways underlying a disease state. By monitoring the expression of all coding genes, it helps researchers acquire insights into the biology of drug candidates. The second platform technology is an advanced AI-based platform that permits quick candidate molecule screening based on transcriptomic analysis.

“The greatest challenge in drug development continues to be related to either efficacy or safety. Attrition statistics show that still as much as 90 percent of drugs fail during clinical development.In our approach, we bring novel biological insight earlier in the process to select and design better molecules which should inevitably result in a de-risking of clinical development,” says John Lubniewski, president and CEO, HTG.

HTG’s sequencing-based technology was initially designed as a platform for research and biomarker discovery, specifically RNA-based gene expression profiling. It does not require RNA extraction, resulting in higher-quality data even from small or archival samples. Compared to traditional RNA sequencing, HTG’s platform offers short turnaround times and high pass rates. It can produce about 45,000 data points per sample in a matter of days.

Being disease agnostic, HTG is open to designing drugs for any disease as long as there is an unmet medical need. Currently, the company is focusing on two targets, one of which falls under the category of RNA-modifying proteins. The first indication is liquid tumors. However, there are up to eight more potential indications for various solid tumors. By filing provisional patents on the first set of compounds for the first indication in - December of 2022, the company is quickly approaching the preclinical development phase.

We bring novel biological insight earlier in the process to select and design better molecules which should inevitably result in a de-risking of clinical development

The second target is also an early target and has been validated by the scientific community. It has a wide range of applications, with neurodegenerative disease treatment being the principal one.

The biggest contributor to HTG’s success is its team. The company has been able to onboard experts who have spent decades in the biopharma industry with a track record of success. They understand the challenges associated with drug discovery and development and how to take the best step forward to continuously enhance the capabilities of HTG’s approach.

HTG is truly revolutionizing the drug discovery and development space by enabling efficient molecule selection and design via their transcriptome informed approach to drug discovery and design. Through transcriptome profiling and gene expression data, HTG is challenging this status quo. In the coming years, the company’s solution is poised to become the go-to tool for de-risking and accelerating drug development.