BioImage issued patent for GFP technology
Amersham Pharmacia Biotech gains exclusive license to BioImage's patent portfolio
BioImage A/S (Soeborg, Denmark) announced the issue of a new U.S. patent for their novel variants of Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP). In December 2000, BioImage and Amersham Pharmacia Biotech (APBiotech; Piscataway, NJ) announced that the two companies had entered into a collaboration to commercialize a new cell-based screening technology using GFP (see related article). Under the terms of the agreement, APBiotech has an exclusive license to BioImage's U.S. patent portfolio on GFP, including the newly granted patent, in addition to the European portfolio previously announced. As in Europe, APBiotech have also been granted the right to sublicense the technology in the United States
As part of its core activity, BioImage has developed and patented one of the most widely used mutations of GFP which, together with a proprietary, integrated suite of imaging-based screening technologies, allow these interactions to be measured in living cells and in real time.
BioImage uses the highly fluorescent GFPs in its proprietary systems to pioneer the discovery of drugs that work by a new mode of action. Instead of inhibiting the catalytic activity of the target protein, these drugs modulate the interaction of proteins with other components in signaling pathways.
Neil Cook, VP of drug discovery at APBiotech, commented "High throughput screening generates vast numbers of 'hits'. The GFP technology is a perfect partner for our LEADseeker Cell Analysis System to analyze how these 'hits' function in living cells. It will help our customers select the best 'hits' to develop further—currently a big bottleneck in drug discovery. We are delighted to have secured such a key technology for our customers and ourselves"
Ole Thastrup, BioImage's chief technology officer, added, "BioImage has developed proprietary systems to track the protein redistribution events known to be critical for health and is the first company to discover drug candidates that modulate these events. This agreement with APBiotech endorses our leadership in the field of fluorescent imaging cell-based assay technologies. It also provides us with a revenue stream which will finance further development of our technologies and support our drug discovery projects."
Green Fluorescent Protein has a number of applications in drug discovery research. Of particular importance, it can be used as a 'tracking device' within a cell, allowing the researcher to build a detailed picture of the production and movement of proteins inside the cell. In drug discovery research, GFP can help evaluate the potential of a drug candidate.
BioImage A/S uses its expertise in redistribution technologies to discover drug candidates that change the activity of specific signaling pathways without inhibiting the catalytic activity of signaling proteins. Increased or decreased activity of a pathway is achieved by targeting the exquisitely specific interactions by which signaling proteins control cellular information flow. BioImage specializes in discovering leads against known signaling targets that cannot be inhibited with absolute specificity by traditional means. The company's high-throughput cell-based redistribution assays make these targets amenable to drug discovery.
BioImage's technologies enable the discovery of drugs that precisely target individual signaling proteins. Drugs with this new mode of action will demonstrate completely different selectivity profiles compared to traditional active-site inhibitors, and are likely to produce fewer side effects. The company's novel approach offers exceptional target and drug discovery opportunities in most therapeutic areas. BioImage has active projects in the areas of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, diabetes, cancers and cardiovascular diseases.
BioImage was established as a spin-off from Novo Nordisk A/S in 1999 with research facilities in Soeborg, Denmark. Major investors and shareholders include venture funds advised by Apax Partners & Co. The Company shall commercialize pharmaceutical drug candidates through collaborations with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.
APBiotech, the life sciences business of Nycomed Amersham plc, is a leading global provider of biotechnology systems, products and services for research into genes and proteins, for the discovery and development of drugs and for the manufacture of biopharmaceuticals. The customers for APBiotech's products and technology are pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and research and academic institutions in North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia.
For more information, contact Ulrik Vejlsgaard of BioImage A/S at 45-44-43-34-44, or Marcy Saack of APBiotech at 732-457-8056.
Source: BioImage A/S