Ubiquigent Awarded Innovate UK Grant To Develop Novel Compound Libraries Targeting Deubiquitylase (DUB) Enzymes

Ubiquigent Limited, a company specialising in providing ubiquitin cell-signalling system drug discovery services and research tools, announced recently that it has been awarded a new grant from Innovate UK as part of its Biomedical Catalyst 2016 Feasibility Study Competition. The project, entitled “Novel chemical libraries to unlock the potential of deubiquitylase (DUB) enzyme drug discovery”, will make it easier for pharmaceutical researchers to target DUB enzymes in the search for new medicines.

The ubiquitin system defines a cascade of proteins that control regulated protein turnover, amongst other functions. The system’s key role in the regulation of the majority (if not all) cellular proteins and processes means that it presents a deep array of potential drug targets – currently largely untapped by the pharma industry – addressing multiple therapeutic areas. This includes many that are currently proving challenging, such as dementia and cancer, as well as a range of metabolic diseases.

Ubiquigent is a world-leading provider of biological assay services in this newly emerging space of ubiquitin-system drug discovery, where the main rate limiting factor is the availability of small molecule libraries to kick-start early drug development. With the help of this grant, Ubiquigent will develop additional, highly-targeted, small molecule libraries focussing on the DUB enzyme subfamily, thereby further unlocking their potential for targeting by the pharmaceutical industry.

Ubiquigent’s Executive Chairman, Dr Mark Treherne, commented: "Following on from the launch of DUBtarget-001, our first compound library, developed in collaboration with the Drug Discovery Unit at the University of Dundee, this timely award from Innovate UK will allow Ubiquigent to develop a series of further libraries. Our expanding DUBtarget ‎portfolio will enable an increasing number of global companies to explore a richer, more diverse chemical space in their search for novel DUB enzyme inhibitors."

The grant is expected to be worth £133k over a twelve-month period, commencing in January 2017. Further information on the competition can be found by visiting bit.ly/biomedcat, while more details on Ubiquigent’s current libraries and services are available at www.ubiquigent.com.

About Ubiquigent
Ubiquigent Limited is a specialist developer and supplier of Drug Discovery Services, high quality Research Tools and Chemistry to the life science research community worldwide. Ubiquigent’s scientific and business interests have a clear focus; namely the ubiquitin, ubiquitin-like, and integrated signalling systems. The company has established its scientific and business credentials with both academic researchers undertaking fundamental scientific discovery and pharmaceutical and biotechnology company scientists exploring the potential of ubiquitin cascade-focused drug discovery.

Ubiquigent benefits from high-calibre backing, including from IP Group plc, US investors, the UK Medical Research Council, and the University of Dundee. The company’s headquarters and laboratory operations are based in the UK and are located in a state-of-the-art facility adjacent to the MRC Protein Phosphorylation and Ubiquitylation Unit at the University of Dundee (both founded by Professor Sir Philip Cohen). In addition to Ubiquigent’s own facilities and capabilities, such proximity provides ready access to a huge range of additional scientific expertise (1,000+ life-science researchers onsite), technological competencies, and assay and analytical platforms. For more information, visit www.ubiquigent.com.

About The ubiquitin system
The ubiquitin system offers many new drug discovery target opportunities across multiple therapeutic areas including cancer, cardiovascular and metabolic, neurological and musculoskeletal, and infection and immunity. Involving the modification of proteins through the attachment of the protein ubiquitin, or ubiquitin-like proteins (Ubls), ubiquitylation and related Ubl modifications are key to the control of cellular protein homeostasis as well as signalling, akin to the critical role played by phosphorylation (approximately 30% of commercial drug discovery programmes target phosphorylation enzymes), and holds similar, if not greater, potential for clinical utility.

About Innovate UK
Innovate UK is the UK’s innovation agency. It works with people, companies and partner organisations to find and drive the science and technology innovations that will grow the UK economy. For more information, visit www.innovateuk.gov.uk.