- Patented Technology Designed to Identify Membrane Protein Binding Partners
For Any Cellular Protein -
BRANFORD, Conn., June 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Cellular Genomics, Inc.
(http://www.cellulargenomics.com) today announced that it has been awarded
Patent No. 6242205 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office for a
method of detecting integral membrane protein-protein interactions. This
technology has significance for genomics-based drug discovery as membrane
proteins have proven to be a rich source of drug targets that are highly
amenable to the development of both small molecule and protein-based
therapeutics.
Referred to as the Membrane 1-Hybrid(TM) Platform, this novel proteomic
technology is uniquely designed to identify membrane protein binding partners
for any cellular protein. Cellular Genomics holds the exclusive worldwide
license to the technology. The inventor of the patent is Dr. Henrik Dohlman,
formerly a professor at the Yale University School of Medicine and currently
at the University of North Carolina. Dr. Dohlman is a member of the Cellular
Genomics Scientific Advisory Board.
"This patent secures a key component of Cellular Genomics' integrated drug
discovery platforms," said Louis Matis, M.D., President and Chief Scientific
Officer of Cellular Genomics. "Mapping protein interactions and their
biochemical pathways will be critical to understanding mechanisms of disease
and, therefore, to identifying optimal targets for drug development. The
Membrane 1-Hybrid Platform(TM) will enable us to identify a wealth of
potential drug targets in the context of biologically relevant cellular
pathways."
Cellular Genomics is implementing the Membrane 1-Hybrid(TM) Platform both
to map the signaling pathways of individual protein drug targets, as well as
on a genome-wide basis as a high-throughput protein-protein interaction
screen. The protein interaction screen can be broadly applied in multiple
tissue and cell types -- including tumors -- for the identification of
membrane-anchored drug targets.
Cellular Genomics, Inc. (CGI) is a privately held genomics-based drug
discovery company with an established platform of functional genomic and
proteomic technologies that couple unprecedented rigor in the identification
and validation of novel drug targets to unique drug discovery capabilities,
including proprietary high-throughput and high-content drug screens. CGI is
leveraging all of these capabilities to develop its own, internal drug
discovery opportunities as well as to establish collaborative programs with
pharmaceutical partners. The Company has four technology platforms: Chemical
Genetics, which includes a Kinase program; Membrane 1-hybrid(TM) platform;
Immunology (dendritic cell program) and Bioinformatics. CGI's technology
platforms are integrated to provide comprehensive "gene to screen to lead"
solutions.
This news release contains certain forward-looking statements that involve
risks and uncertainties. Such statements are only predictions and the
company's actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these
forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause such differences include
the risk that products that appeared promising in early research and clinical
trials do not demonstrate safety or efficacy in larger-scale clinical trials
and the risk that the company will not obtain approval to market its products.
Cellular Genomics Awarded U.S. Patent, June 11, 2001
- Additional Background Information -
Patent No. 6242205, titled "Method of Detecting Drug-Receptor and
Protein-Protein Interactions," describes a new yeast-based approach to
detecting the interaction of two proteins in vivo. By this method, one
binding partner is an integral membrane protein, whereas the other is
cytoplasmic and fused to a G-protein gamma subunit. Interaction between the
binding partners interrupts a well-established G-protein signaling cascade,
which can then be read-out by growth or colorimetric assays in a
high-throughput format. While traditional yeast-based two-hybrid methods are
being widely applied by industry for the mapping of the human proteome, these
methods rely on the interaction of two proteins in the nucleus of the cell,
and are therefore not useful for the study of most integral membrane proteins.
This is significant, because a considerable percentage of all proteins --
including many important drug receptors -- are anchored in the cell membrane,
and are thus unlikely to enter the nucleus. As a result, cell membrane
proteins are underrepresented in traditional two hybrid screens. In contrast,
the Membrane 1-Hybrid(TM) Platform was designed explicitly to study
interactions of such integral membrane proteins.
MAKE YOUR OPINION COUNT -- Click Here
SOURCE Cellular Genomics, Inc.
 back to top
Related links:
http://www.cellulargenomics.com
CONTACT:
Louis A. Matis, M.D., President and Chief
Scientific Officer of Cellular Genomics, Inc., 203-315-1222; or
Rhonda Chiger of Nexus Communications Group, 917-322-2569, for
Cellular Genomics, Inc.
|
