Research Areas

At the recent ASMS Conference on Mass Spectrometry, held in San Antonio, Texas, Ciphergen Biosystems introduced the new Deep Proteome Research Services that bring the company’s Equalizer technology to biomarker discovery and identification.

Although it did not disclose the terms of the transaction, Novasite Pharmaceuticals in mid-June announced the acquisition of Boston, Mass.-based PsyCheNomicS, a drug discovery company focused on diseases of the central nervous system (CNS).

In late May, Enzo Life Sciences, a wholly owned subsidiary of Enzo Biochem, launched a new DNA labeling system aimed at array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH), a technique that detects alterations in the genome leading to changes in DNA copy number.

Radioisotope company MDS Nordion recently announced an R&D agreement with Dallas-based Macrocyclics to develop bifunctional chelates for use in molecular imaging and targeted therapeutic applications.

Lexicon Genetics Inc. and Organon announced in late May a long-term multiphase collaboration that leverages their complementary capabilities to discover, develop, and manufacture novel biotherapeutics. The companies will divide evenly eventual product revenues.

Chromos Molecular Systems Inc. in late May entered into a nonexclusive commercial license agreement with Pfizer Inc. Pfizer may now employ Chromos’s ACE (Artificial Chromosome Expression) System in its own labs to develop cell lines that express proteins. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

Elixir Pharmaceuticals recently secured an exclusive license to intellectual property from the regents of the University of California (UC) relating to work done by Dr. Eric Verdin and his research group at the Gladstone Institute of Virology and Immunology with SirT1, a member of the sirtuin class of enzymes, and the HIV transcriptional transactivation protein.

Sweden

After the acquisition of TekCel, Magellan Biosciences indirectly continues to expand its automation instrument empire as TekCel announces its acquisition of ultra-low-temperature sample-management specialist Biophile, Inc., based in Charlottesville, Virginia. Biophile's systems are used for temperature-sensitive work involving DNA, tissue, and tumor storage, and complement the automation systems already in play at TekCel and Magellan Bioscience.

At the 65th Annual American Diabetes Association Meeting, Entelos presented data from their collaboration with the ADA in two poster sessions. One poster described a comprehensive analysis on the time-dependent effects of treatment in a mouse model for human type 1 diabetes. The other presentation described the company's Type 1 Diabetes PhysioLab modeling platform, which offers large-scale mathematical simulations of disease pathology and therapeutic intervention in the model mice.