Zentek’s Triera Secures $300K OCI Funding After Rapid H5N1 Aptamer Selection
Zentek’s Triera Biosciences completed a government Innovative Solutions Canada contract by selecting an H5N1-targeting aptamer in seven weeks and will report full technical results soon. Triera has secured a $300,000 Ontario Centres of Innovation Collaborate 2 Commercialize agreement to advance seasonal influenza H1N1 and H3N2 aptamer candidate development.
1. ISC Contract Completion
Triera Biosciences completed the Innovative Solutions Canada contract focusing on an aptamer-based asset for binding and deactivating H5N1. The selection process took approximately seven weeks, demonstrating speed and adaptability beyond conventional antibody approaches and setting the stage for a full technical report.
2. OCI Collaborate 2 Commercialize Agreement
Triera has executed an Ontario Centres of Innovation C2C agreement with a total approved budget of $300,000, match-funded by OCI and Zentek. This next phase targets seasonal influenza strains H1N1 and H3N2, leveraging multivalent aptamer engineering for candidate optimization, dose-finding, pharmacokinetic modeling, and preparatory toxicology studies.
3. Academic Collaboration and Platform Extension
The program will be conducted with McMaster University’s Li and Miller Laboratories, building on multivalent architectures established in SARS-CoV-2 and H5N1 projects. This partnership aims to broaden strain coverage, enhance binding avidity and stability, and engage in Health Canada regulatory dialogue for clinical advancement.