NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Nuclea Biotechnologies announced today that it has partnered with Aelan Cell Technologies to develop, validate, and commercialize novel biomarker tests and companion diagnostics, with a focus on cancer, metabolic disorders, neurodegeneration, aging, and aging-related disorders.
Nuclea said that the arrangement would combine its expertise in proteomics with Aelan's genomics know-how. Specifically, Nuclea will provide protein analysis of the human stem cells used as models for the tests, while Aelan will provide DNA and mRNA analysis.
Aelan will also research the biological pathways associated with aging and life extension, Nuclea said, to identify which age-related biological processes are activated in various patient populations during interventions including supplements, drugs, and exercise. This, the company added, will enable the discovery of age-related biomarkers across diseases such as early-stage cancer and neurodegeneration.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
"Incorporating prognostic and predictive biomarkers into clinical trial strategies, in addition to therapeutic decision-making, is essential to disentangling the complexities of the pathogenic process, drug pharmacodynamics, and epidemiological heterogeneity," Aelan CEO Victoria Lunyak said in a statement. "Our goal is to develop tests based on biomarker panels identified in next-generation sequencing and mass spectrometry-based proteomics studies."
"This relationship provides access to novel biomarkers and data analysis platforms, as well as Aelan's expertise in stem cell biology and epigenetics," Nuclea President and CEO Patrick Muraca added in the statement. "Nuclea has complementary manufacturing and commercialization capabilities that facilitate the development of diagnostics with robust clinical utility."