GenData and Battelle to Collaborate on Biomarkers for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

NEW YORK, Aug. 13 (GenomeWeb News) - GenData Research Corporation and Batelle announced yesterday that they have entered into a collaboration to identify, develop, and commercialize biomarkers for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a lung disease that is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States and the cause of 2.9 million deaths worldwide every year.

Using mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance techniques, as well as phenotyping and genotyping techniques, the companies plan to do a comprehensive analysis of protein and metabolite markers taken from patients with COPD and matched control patients. The goal of the analysis is to be able to identify underlying factors associated with the disease, which the companies said could lead to better diagnostic and therapeutic treatments.

Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, GenData collaborates with the Universityof Utahto do genetic studies on human populations. Batelle, headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, has collaborated with the US Food and Drug Administration in studying problems associated with smoke inhalation and in developing animal models for COPD.

The companies did not disclose financial terms of their agreement.