NEW YORK, Sept. 20 – Tranzyme of Birmingham, Ala., and Active Pass Pharmaceuticals of Vancouver, said Thursday they had agreed to combine their technologies in an effort to study gene expression and bolster their drug discovery programs.
Under the terms of the deal, Active Pass will provide sets of gene sequences that make up the molecular pumps, or ABC transporters, located in the membranes of all cells, while Tranzyme will use its Tranz Expression Technology to deliver these genes into mammalian cells. By doing this, the companies said they would be able to gain a better of understanding of tene expression and the proteins involved in cells of interest.
"Combining Tranzyme's technology with our existing suite of ABC transporter gene sequences is a key step in advancing our chemogenomic strategy," Peter Reiner, CEO of Active Pass Pharmaceuticals, said in a statement.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Tranzyme said its deal with Active Pass was its second since introducing the Tranz Expression Technology in August. Last month, the company announced a collaboration with NeoGenesis Drug Discovery of Cambridge, Mass. Tranzyme said it is in talks with at least 12 potential partners.
Tranzyme is a privately held biotechnology company that develops technologies for applied genomics, proteomics, and drug discovery.
Active Pass Pharmaceuticals is also privately held. Its main objective is to develop drugs that target ABC transporters.