Harvard spin-out grants Proteomika access to DNA-based protein chips for use in IBD and lupus.
Proteomika inked an option agreement for exclusive access to Auguron’s nucleic acid programmable protein array (NAPPA) technology in two autoimmune disease areas.
The pact allows Proteomika to manufacture and use NAPPA technology for internal purposes as well as a service to partners. At any time during the agreement, Proteomika may exercise an option to negotiate an exclusive license to use NAPPA for IBD and lupus biomarker discovery.
NAPPA technology enables the generation of fresh, functional proteins on high-density microchips from surface printed DNA. It was developed at the Harvard Institute of Proteomics (HIP) and is covered by several issued and pending patents licensed exclusively to Auguron Biosciences.
Auguron was formed in early 2007 to commercialize developments at HIP. “This is the first disease-specific commercial venture for NAPPA and this option sets the stage for Proteomika to fully exploit the power of the platform in two very important disease areas,” says Jim Richey, co-founder and chief executive of Auguron.
Proteomika is a subsidiary of Progenika Biopharma, which has developed and clinically validated LIPOchip®, a microarray for the diagnosis of familial hypercholesterolemia, PHARMAchip®, a drug metabolism genotyping microarray, and BLOODchip®, a blood group genotyping microarray. A series of new diagnostic microarrays are under development or in late-stage clinical validation, including products targeting fibromyalgia, inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis and osteoporosis.
