Pure MHC

What Pure MHC does

Pure MHC, LLC is a private biotechnology discovery and development company founded in 2014 as a portfolio company of Emergent Technologies, Inc., operating from an administrative office in Austin, Texas and a 7,000+ square foot research laboratory in Oklahoma City. The company is built on proprietary soluble HLA (sHLA) protein technology combined with Deep Ligand Sequencing, a mass spectrometry-based immunopeptidomics approach that enables identification of HLA Class I and Class II peptide targets uniquely presented by diseased cells. Pure MHC's core scientific assets include coverage of all 120 Class I HLA alleles (plus Class II and non-classical HLA molecules), a Peptide HLA Immunotherapy Data Resource (PHIDR) covering 40+ healthy tissues and 60 primary tumor samples, and PRM/MRM targeted LC-MS methods capable of quantifying up to 50 distinct peptide sequences per run.

The company's commercial model rests on two complementary motions. Pure MHC Solutions, launched in 2021, provides fee-for-service contract research including MHC immunopeptidomics surveys, HLA target validation, THP-1 macrophage antigen presentation assays, vaccine target discovery, and non-human MHC characterization. Layered on top, Pure MHC licenses proprietary MHC peptide targets and associated intellectual property to pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners for use in TCR therapeutics, CAR-T, bispecific antibodies, and antibody-drug conjugates. Pricing is custom and quote-based, with multi-year contracts and revenue supplemented by milestone and royalty components on licensed programs. Named customers include AbbVie, argenx, Xencor, ImmunoScape, Myrio Therapeutics, PhosImmune, ImmunoCellular Therapeutics, and LifeNet Health, spanning oncology, autoimmunity, and infectious disease indications.

Name

Pure MHC

Legal name

Pure MHC, LLC

Website

https://puremhc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Pure MHC is a private biotechnology company that uses proprietary soluble HLA proteins and mass spectrometry-based immunopeptidomics to discover and license disease-specific peptide targets to pharmaceutical and biotechnology customers developing cancer, autoimmune, and infectious disease immunotherapies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Immunopeptidomics Contract Research Services

NAICS

Medical Laboratories (621511), In-Vitro Diagnostic Substance Manufacturing (325413)

SIC

Services-Medical Laboratories (8071), In Vitro & In Vivo Diagnostic Substances (2835)

akta.pro primary industry

Biomarker Assay & Reagent Development (LDT/IVD assay design, antibodies/standards/controls) (HLAAAMAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Immuno-Oncology & Immune Monitoring Biomarkers (TMB, MSI, MRD, immune profiling) (HLAAAMAK), Antibody Discovery & Engineering Platforms (display tech, bispecifics, Fc engineering) (HLAAAIAB), Therapeutic Vaccines (cancer, chronic infection immunotherapy) (HLAAAEAB)

Keywords

• HLA peptide discovery
• Immunopeptidomics services
• Contract research services
• Immunotherapy target identification
• Soluble HLA proteins

Headquarters

HQ city

Austin

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Contract Research Services: Pure MHC Solutions Program provides contract research services to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies for epitope validation, development, and therapeutic exploitation. Services include MHC immunopeptidomics surveys, HLA target validation, and PRM/MRM peptide target validation.
2. Licensing Deals: Licensing of proprietary MHC peptide targets and intellectual property to biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies for use in immunotherapeutic modalities including TCRs, CAR-Ts, antibody drug conjugates, and bispecific antibodies.
3. Collaborative Research Partnerships: Strategic collaborations with pharmaceutical companies to discover and validate peptide targets for specific therapeutic applications, often with potential milestone and royalty components.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Pure MHC provides contract research services and proprietary tools for the discovery and validation of disease-specific HLA Class I and Class II peptide targets to support immunotherapy drug development. Its core platform combines soluble HLA (sHLA) proteins with Deep Ligand Sequencing mass spectrometry, complemented by the PHIDR healthy-tissue immunopeptidome database, to enable target identification for TCR, CAR-T, bispecific antibody, and vaccine programs in oncology, autoimmunity, and infectious disease.

Product overview

Pure MHC is a discovery and development company offering a suite of proprietary tools and contract research services centered on HLA (Human Leukocyte Antigen) peptide target identification and validation. The core technology is the soluble HLA (sHLA) platform combined with Deep Ligand Sequencing for unbiased immunopeptidomics. The main service offerings include: MHC Immunopeptidomics Survey (LC-MS analysis), HLA-A2 Target Validation, PRM/MRM Peptide Target Validation, THP-1 Macrophage Assays, and the PHIDR database. Pure MHC Solutions serves as the contract research services division offering pathogen target discovery, vaccine target discovery, and non-human MHC characterization. Services target therapeutic development for oncology, autoimmunity, and infectious disease indications on a contract research basis.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Pure MHC Solutions: Contract research services division offering HLA expertise, proprietary tools, and intellectual property for epitope validation and therapeutic development.
• PHIDR (Peptide HLA Immunotherapy Data Resource)

Quantifiable outcome

• Capability to study all 120 Class I HLA alleles, as well as Class II and non-classical HLA molecules
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Myrio TherapeuticscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 April 2022Collaboration to develop new antibody-based oncology therapeutics combining Pure MHC's proprietary MHC peptide targets for oncology with Myrio's Retained Display (ReD) antibody discovery process. Initial collaboration to create up to three novel therapies based on targets distinct to tumors across multiple types of cancer.
• ImmunoScapecoreTechnology or Integration · 16 February 2022Licensing deal for Pure MHC to provide MHC peptide targets for ImmunoScape to pursue TCR-T therapeutics in lung cancer, colorectal cancer, and other cancer indications.
• argenxcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 31 March 2021Launch of Pure MHC Solutions contract research division with initial collaboration project with global immunology company argenx.
• LifeNet HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 March 2021Collaboration to build and launch Peptide HLA Immunotherapy Data Resource (PHIDR), leveraging LifeNet Health's position as a trusted provider of transplant solutions and leader in regenerative medicine.
• University of Oklahoma Health Sciences CenterminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 March 2020Research collaboration to work toward the development of a vaccine for the COVID-19 virus.
• AbbViecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 January 2017Research and license agreement to discover and validate peptide targets for use with T-cell receptor therapeutics in several types of cancers.
• XencorcoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 12 January 2016Exclusive license agreement for engineered monoclonal antibodies for autoimmune diseases, asthma, allergic diseases, and cancer.
• ImmunoCellular TherapeuticsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 June 2015Agreement for development of a novel quality control assay for ICT-107 phase 3 registrational clinical program in newly diagnosed glioblastoma.
• PhosImmuneminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 October 2014License and collaboration agreement to develop novel antibody-based immunotherapies designed to target cancers.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Adaptive Biotechnologies: Operates an immune profiling platform that maps TCR-antigen pairs at scale using immunosequencing and MIRA. Directly comparable to Pure MHC in targeting HLA/peptide-TCR interactions for immunotherapy discovery, though Adaptive focuses on sequencing rather than mass spectrometry.
• Personalis: Provides genomics-based immuno-oncology profiling for pharma, including tumor and immune repertoire characterization used in antigen discovery and companion diagnostic work. Comparable to Pure MHC's PHIDR-style immunopeptidome services for oncology R&D customers.

Broad incumbents

• Cell Signaling Technology: Develops and manufactures antibodies and reagents for immunology, cancer, and cell biology research. Comparable as a reagent/assay provider to the pharma/biotech research community, though it does not focus specifically on HLA peptide discovery.
• Bio-Techne: Global life sciences tools and reagents company selling proteomics, immunoassay, and immunology research products. Overlaps with Pure MHC's proteomics and HLA reagent offerings but as a much broader incumbent serving many research areas.
• Bruker: Manufacturer of mass spectrometry and proteomics instrumentation used by Pure MHC. Comparable as a scientific instrument and proteomics solutions provider in the same workflow, though at the tools level rather than services.

Emerging players

• AbCellera: Antibody discovery platform using proprietary screening and AI to identify leads for pharma; comparable to Pure MHC in providing CRO-style discovery services to pharma/biotech, though focused on antibody discovery rather than HLA peptide targets.
• Immunocore: Developer of TCR-based therapeutics (ImmTAC platform) that depend on HLA peptide target identification. Directly comparable from a target-discovery perspective, as Immunocore needs the same immunopeptidome insights Pure MHC commercializes.
• Olink: Provides high-throughput proteomics platforms (PEA) for biomarker discovery, including immuno-oncology. Adjacent to Pure MHC's mass-spec-based immunopeptidomics for pharma target discovery and biomarker work.
• Adaptimmune: Clinical-stage TCR therapeutic company developing SPEAR T-cells against HLA-presented cancer targets. Represents a downstream user of Pure MHC-style HLA peptide target discovery and validation.

Regional players

• GenScript: Global biotech CRO/CDMO offering gene synthesis, peptide synthesis, antibody discovery, and cell therapy services. Comparable to Pure MHC as a CRO-style discovery services provider for pharma/biotech, with broader services but less HLA specialization.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pure-mhc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Pure MHC