NEW YORK, July 17 – Sangamo BioSciences has agreed to prepare genetically engineered cells and deliver them to Pharmacia for screening small molecule drugs, Sangamo said Tuesday.
Sangamo, of Richmond, Calif., will use its zinc finger DNA-binding protein transcription factor (ZFP TF) technology to overexpress certain proteins in cell lines. Pharmacia, based in Peapack, NJ, will take the cells and use them to screen its library of small molecule compounds to determine how well they bind with the proteins.
The agreement requires Pharmacia to pay Sangamo upfront, as well as provide research funding, product development milestones, and royalties on any product sales. The companies did not disclose financial details.
“This is our second small molecule screening collaboration, which has the advantage of allowing scientists to overexpress a particular protein without using its cloned DNA," Edward Lanphier, CEO of Sangamo, said in a statement.
Sangamo ZFP TF technology can both up and down regulate gene expression. The company has partnered with over 20 pharmaceutical companies to apply its technology to studying gene function and validating drug targets.