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Protagen and ZAP partner with Kangdi Antibody Biotech and Bejing Proteome
Research Centre to develop antibodies |
Dortmund, Germany and Chester, NJ, US - 16th May 2007. Protagen AG, a
leading provider of products, services and software solutions for protein
research, has entered into an international collaboration to develop antibodies
against liver proteins. Protagen announced it’s partnership with the Centre for
Applied Proteomics (ZAP), Dortmund, Schunde Kangdi Antibody Biotech, Foshan,
China and the Beijing Proteome Research Centre (Beijing PRC) today at the
international symposium on High Performance Proteomics in Dortmund.
The involvement of Protagen in the collaboration will be to develop tailor-made
protein biochips that can be used to analyze quantitative antibody binding
profiles, as well as any off-target activities of antibody candidates. UNIchip®
products of Protagen are versatile research tools that enable faster antibody
development by rapidly identifying the most specific antibody candidates at an
early stage of development.
ZAP will use UNIchip® to assess around 200 monoclonal antibodies, generated by
Schunde Kangdi Antibody Biotech and Beijing PRC. The results will be used to
identify those antibodies that are most promising for future development as
research tools or therapeutics or for use in diagnostic kits. The industrial
partners are sharing the worldwide commercialization rights for the antibodies
analyzed.
Professor Helmut E. Meyer, Head of the Human Brain Proteome Project and Director
of ZAP and Professor Fuchu He, Head of the Human Liver Proteome Project and
president of the Beijing PRC, will share the scientific leadership on the
project. The two institutes have already worked together for a number of years
within the framework of the Human Proteome Organization (HUPO).
Christoph Hüls, CEO of Protagen said: “As far as I am aware, this is the first
collaboration in the area of antibody development between Germany and China
where research institutes and biotech companies from both countries are equally
involved. This project exemplifies the ever increasing importance of
international cooperation in biotechnology to help speed up the delivery of
innovative products to the market. The fact that our UNIchip® products are being
used to aid antibody development in China, demonstrates both our international
reach and the benefits that our products can bring to the drug discovery and
development process.”
Professor Meyer said: “As the proteome is so much more complex than the genome,
it is more costly to research. It is therefore useful to work with a number of
partners to draw on a wide range of experience and pool resources. We are
looking forward to working with Protagen and tapping into the company’s
extensive experience in protein research to help us achieve our goals.”
- ends -
About Protagen AG
Protagen (www.protagen.com) is a
leading provider of products, services and software solutions for protein
research. Operating internationally to provide customers with products and
services of the highest quality, Protagen has offices in Dortmund, Germany and
New Jersey, USA. The Company has a decade of experience in applying the most
advanced protein research tools and techniques to improve the efficiency of the
drug discovery and development process.
As an innovator in protein biochips, Protagen has developed UNIclone®, a patent
protected platform for protein expression libraries and protein arrays, and
UNIchip®, a versatile and highly efficient series of protein biochip products
for antibody development. In addition, it has established UNIarrayTM, a highly
efficient technology platform for biomarker discovery on an industrial scale.
Protagen has recently received a BioChance Plus grant from the German government
to identify biomarkers for Multiple Sclerosis and Rheumatoid Arthritis.
Protagen provides customers with a flexible service program, including protein
analysis and identification, differential protein display, antibody validation
and specification, antigen identification, and full data management services.
About the Centre for Applied Proteomics
The Centre for Applied Proteomics (ZAP) is a consortium of three partners:
The Medical Proteome Centre (MPC, Ruhr-University Bochum), the University of
Dortmund and the Biomedicine Centre Dortmund (BMZ). ZAP works in conjunction
with industry, to develop protein biochips and novel methods of protein
analysis.
As part of Dortmund’s ‘innovation platform’, ZAP specializes in the areas of
proteomics, protein biochips, biostatistics and bioinformatics. Through
developing technologies for quantitative protein analysis ZAP aims to help
pharmaceutical companies perform more accurate, targeted analyses of proteomes
more rapidly and at a lower cost than has been previously possible. By bringing
together both academic and industrial collaborators, ZAP aims to develop
products that address the needs of industry, thus facilititating their entry
into the market.
Contact
Dr. Christoph Hüls
CEO
Protagen AG
Otto-Hahn-Str. 15
44227 Dortmund
Tel: +49 (0) 231 9742 6300
Fax: +49 (0) 231 9742 6301
E-Mail: info@protagen.de
Contact
Prof. Dr. Helmut E. Meyer
Director
Zentrum für Angewandte Proteomik
Otto-Hahn-Str. 15
44227 Dortmund
Tel: +49 (0) 234 32 22427
Fax: +49 (0) 234 31 14554
E-Mail: Helmut.E.Meyer@rub.de
For English media enquiries
Lorna Watson, Gemma Price, Holly Griffiths
Northbank Communications
Tel: +44 (0)20 7268 3002
Fax: +44 (0)20 7268 3102
protagen@northbankcommunications.com
Northbank Communications Ltd
85 Tottenham Court Road
London W1T 4DU, UK
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