German biotech firm Kinaxo announced this week it has reached an agreement with AstraZeneca to use its mass spectrometry platform to investigate post-translational protein modifications in support of the drugmaker's oncology programs.
The agreement calls for Kinaxo to provide quantitative analyses of PTMs on a proteome-wide scale with the expectation that "such comprehensive analysis will gain valuable insights into cellular functions of potential drug targets," the company said in a statement.
Among Kinaxo's PTM-related products is its PhosphoScout service, which is designed to monitor the response of cellular signal transduction pathways to drug treatments. It also offers custom PTM analysis services and has struck deals with a variety of global pharma companies including Johnson & Johnson, Dalichi-Sankyo, Roche, and Bristol-Myers Squibb.
Kinaxo does its mass spec work on Thermo Fisher Scientific LTQ Orbitrap Velos machines.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.