Mycota Sciences, Canadian agency jointly fund fungal genomics research
Boosting understanding of deadly diseases
Genomics is widely accepted as the new starting point for understanding diseases, especially those caused by pathogens. With fungal disease awareness on the rise, both from medical and marketing experts (see related article), the need to unravel fungal gene sequences is becoming acute.
The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC; Toronto) and Mycota Biosciences Inc. (Montreal) will jointly fund a three-year collaborative research project on antifungal drug target discovery and evaluation. Research will be conducted at three of Canada's leading research institutes: McGill University, the University of Toronto, and Concordia University. NSERC has granted conditional approval to the funding until the project receives formal approval by the universities, which is expected early this fall.
Fungal infections, known as mycoses, have dramatically increased in the last two decades and are a significant cause of disease and death. Candida albicans, a yeast-like fungus, is the major fungal pathogen in humans, causing a broad range of infections—from diaper rash and vaginitis to life-threatening infections in patients whose immune system has been disabled by HIV, cancer, organ transplants, or other surgeries. In hospitals, Candida is considered the fourth most common infectious agent.
All commonly prescribed antifungal drugs generally must be taken for prolonged periods but have significant side effects and/or limited success. The discovery of safer and more specific antifungal drugs would greatly improve the health care and life expectancy of patients.
Joint corporate/university research
The research will be led by three Mycota Biosciences founders, all prominent in fungal genomics, cell surface biology, and molecular genetics: Howard Bussey, chief scientific officer for Mycota and a professor in the biology department of McGill; Charles M. Boone, director of gene expression analysis for Mycota and an associate professor at the University of Toronto; and Reginald K. Storms, director of functional genomics for Mycota and a professor in the biology department at Concordia University.
"The NSERC grant provides Mycota with an opportunity to pursue critical basic research at three prestigious laboratories cost-effectively and efficiently," said Iraj Beheshti, Mycota's president and CEO. "This work enormously increases our research thrust."
Under the terms of the agreement, NSERC will provide $720,000 CAN and Mycota will provide $360,000 CAN to support the research. Mycota Biosciences will hold the right of first refusal on intellectual property.
Research conducted under the grant will concentrate on cell proliferation as it relates to pathogenic fungi and the mechanisms of fungal virulence. The goal will be to identify and characterize two classes of genes that are essential for fungal pathogenicity—genes for biosynthesis of the fungal cell wall and genes required for the transition from unicellular to filamentous growth. "It is critical for us to understand the mechanisms of cellular function and incidence of drug resistance if we are to make progress in the discovery and development of novel antifungals," Beheshti adds.
About Mycota
Mycota Biosciences creates functional genomic information through large-scale gene disruption and genetic engineering of fungal genomes. By autumn 2000, the company expects to complete a major and unprecedented step, the identification of nearly all the potential antifungal drug targets of Candida albicans, the major fungal pathogen afflicting humans.
Later this year, the company expects to begin high throughput drug screening using a technology licensed from Stanford University and several other enabling technologies. In drug screening, compound libraries are screened to determine whether they can inactivate validated drug targets.
For more information: Iraj Beheshti, President and CEO, Mycota Biosciences, Inc., 225 President Kennedy Ave. West, Suite 2550, Montreal, Quebec H2X 3Y8 Canada. Tel: 514-987-0415. Fax: 514-987-0389.
Edited by Angelo DePalma
Managing Editor, Pharmaceutical Online and Drug Discovery Online
adepalma@vertical.net