NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Ariadne, Cellecta, and the Roswell Park Cancer Institute today announced they will collaborate to develop a knowledgebase of prostate-specific pathway models.
Under the agreement, Cellecta will use its Decipher functional genomics technology to screen for a panel of prostate cancer cell lines to identify genes that are essential for cancer cell viability. From that, Ariadne will use available 'omics data to identify the pathways involved and to "build mechanistic models in support of the genes identified from the siRNA targets in the screen," the Rockville, Md., company said in a statement.
Roswell will contribute its expertise in prostate cancer biology and clinical applications.
Together the partners hope to bring about "a better understanding of the mechanisms of prostate cancer that result in novel targets and biomarkers," Ilya Mazo, CEO of Ariadne, said.
The project is partially funded by a National Cancer Institute SBIR Phase 1 grant. According to a spokeswoman from Ariadne, the two-year $400,000 grant covers all but $100,000 for the project, which Ariadne will pay.