Medical tech stock AdAlta (ASX:1AD) thinks that when it comes to immunisation, what works for sharks can also work for humans.

And the company’s technology has caught the eye of global player GE Healthcare. AdAlta announced this morning that the two parties had signed a licensing deal to develop AdAlta’s i-body platform for enhanced diagnostic imaging.

The pairing certainly caught the market’s attention, as shares in 1AD rocketed higher more than 30 per cent in morning trade.

Using sharks to fight cancer

AdAlta says one of the main competitive advantages of its i-body platform is size; the technology is based on the shape of a shark antibody, which is smaller.

As a result, it’s “one tenth the size of traditional antibodies, making it ideally suited as an imaging agent”.

The company will team up with GE to identify markers of activated t-cells in patients receiving immunotherapy.

“Initial work will focus on Granzyme B, a serine protease commonly secreted by immune cells in cancer,” AdAlta said.

Along with the i-body screening process, AdAlta is also advancing the development of its AD-214 therapeutic program used in the treatment of lung diseases such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).

The company remains on track to enter human trials for its AD-214 treatment to commence in January 2020.

NOW WATCH: VIDEO: 90 Seconds With… Sam Cobb, AdAlta

In other ASX tech news today:

Data centre company DXN Limited (ASX:DXN) announced its Sydney data centre, called DXN-SYD01, is up and running at Olympic Park. The data centre “caters for the spectrum of computing densities in an environment designed for world class reliability, telecommunications and cloud connectivity”, DXN said. Shares in the company were up 1.9 per cent at 5.4c.

Shares in payments platform isignthis (ASX:ISX) continue to jump around. After a sharp fall last week, the stock price continued Friday’s rebound with another sharp hike this morning. The company said that the European Patent Office (EPO) intends to grant patents for ISX in all 38 EPO member states.

And design engineering firm Hydrix Limited (ASX:HYD) has secured a $5m debt facility with PURE Asset Management, a specialist provider of hybrid capital. The funds will be used to refinance $3m of existing shareholder loans.