NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – OriGene Technologies announced that it has received a contract from the National Cancer Institute to develop high affinity anti-peptide antibodies for SISCAPA assays.
SISCAPA, short for Stable Isotope Standards and Capture by Anti-Peptide Antibodies, was developed by Leigh Anderson, CEO of SISCAPA Assay Technologies, for the high sensitivity quantification of proteins in clinical samples using affinity-capture SRM mass spectrometry. While the technology can simultaneously quantify multiple proteins from a sample, its capabilities are limited "due to the scarcity of high affinity antibodies to the specific peptides that are generated by the fragmentation of the target protein before analysis," OriGene said.
With the NCI contract, the Rockville, Md.-based firm will produce high quality antibodies with the long-term goal of developing assays for every human protein. OriGene is collaborating with the Institute for Systems Biology and in coordination with the NCI's Clinical Proteomic Technologies for Cancer group to develop the antibodies.
OriGene did not disclose the amount of the grant. According to the National Institutes of Health's database, the project start date was September 2013 and lasts until late June 2014. OriGene was awarded $199,996 in Fiscal Year 2013 as part of the contract.
OriGene previously worked with ISB Director of Proteomics Research Robert Moritz to generate mass spec peptide profiles from more than 5,000 full length human proteins for inclusion in the complete human SRMAtlas. In the current work, OriGene will use a novel immunization strategy to develop high antibody titers in rabbits, and then use proteomics approaches at Moritz's lab "to identify, isolate, and characterize the high affinity antibodies suitable for SISCAPA approaches," the company said.