Wave 80 Biosciences

Wave 80 Biosciences is a small biotechnology company located in San Francisco.  They are advancing novel diagnostics based on FRET (Forster resonance energy transfer) technology to develop accurate and inexpensive assays that will be able to detect several of the most common autoantibodies associated with increased risk of T1D.  The autoantibodies are against the proteins insulin, IA-2, GAD65 and ZnT8.  There is a large body of evidence that shows that the greater the number of autoantibodies, the higher the likelihood to progression to symptomatic disease.  Current methodologies for detecting autoantibodies are technically complex and expensive.  Wave 80 hopes to develop a diagnostic that will be easy and simple to use at low cost, thus enabling screening larger populations.