NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Sciex today announced a commercialization agreement covering targeted proteomics technology developed by Amanda Paulovich at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
The deal, which aims to improve the reproducibility and specificity of targeted proteomics for cancer research, provides Sciex with the rights to commercialize the immune-MRM assays developed by the Paulovich laboratory, a member of the National Cancer Institute's Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium. Immuno-MRM assays combine immunoassays and mass spectrometry to provide highly reproducible, sensitive, and specific quantification of protein targets, such as phosphorylated proteins, Sciex said.
However, an off-the-shelf format for the technology has been unavailable until now. The deal will provide researchers with assays that quantitatively measure phosphorylated and unmodified proteins that are known to be associated with cancer signaling pathways.
Paulovich said in a statement that the agreement will enable academic and pharmaceutical scientists to "rapidly generate high-quality quantification results on target pathways."
Sciex will offer immune-MRM kits starting in 2016 as a complete solution for mass spec-based protein quantification of specific key biological pathways. They will be commercialized for a new targeted proteomics workflow introduced this week by Sciex that includes the QTrap 6500 system and microflow liquid chromatography, and the Beckman Biomek Laboratory Automated Workstation, as well as optimized workflows for protein digestion.
Aaron Hudson, senior director of the Academic and Clinical Research Business at Sciex, said that issues around research reproducibility, especially around antibody quality, are well-documented. "This collaboration will address this crisis and extend our leadership in protein quantitation by delivering highly validated protein assays for use on our best-in-class QTrap systems," he said.