NEW YORK – Thermo Fisher Scientific said on Monday that its Thermo Fisher Precision Medicine Science Center (PMSC) is collaborating with AstraZeneca and the University of Nebraska Medical Center to develop new clinical protein biomarker discovery solutions.
Ongoing and planned studies will use standardized plasma protein profiling workflows, including Thermo Fisher's ultra-high throughput plasma protein profiling workflow, to discover biomarkers for a range of conditions. This involves automated sample preparation for untargeted and targeted methods in combination with Thermo Scientific's Orbitrap Exploris 480 and Orbitrap Exploris 240 mass spectrometers.
"This collaboration aims to evaluate and establish a model for clinical proteomics, using advanced sample processing and downstream analytical applications, that has the potential to help us identify new drug targets and biomarkers," said Ventzi Hristova, senior R&D scientist for dynamic omics, antibody discovery, and protein engineering at AstraZeneca, in a statement.
The University of Nebraska Medical Center plans to use the PMSC's workflows to analyze clinical samples in an aneurysm study in collaboration with Vanderbilt University, the University of Maryland, and the University of Wisconsin. The study is supported by the National Institute on Aging. "Thermo Fisher's mass spectrometry platform and workflow will allow us to analyze a large cohort of plasma samples and answer highly significant clinical questions," said Merry Lindsey, chair of the department of cellular and integrative physiology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, in a statement.
Overall, the PMSC aims to create standardized workflows with pharmaceutical and academic partners to streamline the transition from biomarker research to clinical implementation.