Curagen and Sequenom Combine Proteomics and Genotyping
Curagen and Sequenom agreed last week to jointly study potential gene and protein targets identified by the two companies’ technology. The deal does not involve a substantial amount of money changing hands, according to a Curagen spokesperson, but will allow both companies to share in the rights to develop any drugs that result from the research.
In the collaboration, San Diego-based Sequenom will identify genes relevant to disease through its population genetics approach, which applies whole-genome screens to discover relevant SNPs. CuraGen will apply proteomics techniques, including its yeast two-hybrid technology, to characterize gene function, protein interaction and disease pathways. Curagen’s proteomics technology also includes mass spectrometry-based approaches for studying larger protein complexes, the spokesperson said.
The agreement follows from research collaborations that New Haven, Conn.-based Curagen initially struck with Gemini, which was acquired by Sequenom in September 2001.
PerkinElmer to Manufacture and Distribute Nextgen Sciences’ Protein Array Workstation
PerkinElmer said last week that it will build and sell a new automated system for processing protein microarrays co-developed by its life sciences division and Huntingdon, UK-based NextGen Sciences.
Under the terms of the agreement, PerkinElmer Life Sciences will manufacture and have exclusive worldwide distribution rights for the system, called the ProteinArray workstation.
Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. However, Jim Monahan, a spokesman for PerkinElmer Life Sciences, told ProteoMonitor that the tool itself “is still in the developmental stage” but will hit the market sometime in September.
Illumina Receives NCI Grant to Adapt Arrays for Proteins
Illumina has received a $1.2 million SBIR grant from the National Cancer Institute to develop a multiplexed immunoassay system for proteins and post-translational modifications, the company said last week.
Illumina will design the system for use in identifying and exploring defects in the homeostasis of the lymphoid system, and the immune response to cancer.
The grant is a Phase 2 research grant funded through NCI’s Innovative Molecular Analysis Technologies program. It will help the company adapt its microbead array technology, now used for DNA and RNA analysis, in order to measure and characterize proteins.
The company will partner with Christopher Goodnow, a professor of molecular medicine at the Australian National University’s John Curtin School for Medical Research. Goodnow’s research centers on investigating lymphocyte reactions in order to understand autoimmune disorders, allergies, metastatic cancers, and leukemia and lymphoma.