Bio Saga Blog - A Chronicle of Life Sciences & Informatics

First the genome; now the proteome. China has already established a leading position in DNA sequencing through the work of the  BGI  in Shenzhen (formerly the Beijing Genomics Institute), which has been generating eye-catching genomics discoveries for the past few years (see  Nature  464,  22–24; 2010 ). This week, Chinese researchers are set to announce initiatives that could put them at the forefront of international efforts to catalogue and characterize all proteins in the human body. Inspired by the Human Genome Project, protein researchers worldwide have been seeking funds to build a full catalogue of human proteins — a proteome — which, they say, will explain how the information encoded in our genomes can give rise to normal and diseased states. his January, the  Human Proteome Organization  (HUPO) in Montreal, Canada, took the first steps towards an international effort. It set up the Human Proteome Project (HPP) working group to coordinat...

In a study appearing in the newest issue of the  Archives of Neurology , members of the Texas Alzheimer's Research Consortium reported that they have  identified protein biomarkers  in the blood that can be used to distinguish between individuals with and without Alzheimer's disease. The researchers compared protein patterns in blood samples from hundreds of individuals with or without Alzheimer's disease and incorporated these potential biomarkers into an algorithm for detecting Alzheimer's cases in a test group. Their results so far suggest this algorithm can accurately classify most Alzheimer's cases — particularly when combined with  APOE  status and demographic data. And, they said, information from the biomarker study is offering clues about possible sub-groups within Alzheimer's. For instance, by looking at some of the proteins that are frequently expressed at different levels in the blood of those with Alzheimer's disease, the team identified a pote...

BioFocus DPI has partnered with the cancer drug candidate and biomarker company Oncodesign to offer an integrated service platform, Galapagos division BioFocus DPI said today. The agreement will create a service that combines BioFocus DPI's target discovery and screening capabilities with Oncodesign's biomarker and pharmacological services to offer target validation and clinical candidate selection services, the company said. BioFocus DPI offers gene-to-drug candidate discovery services, including in vitro and cell-based screening, chemogenomic and informatics offerings , storage, distribution, and other structural biology and medicinal chemistry services. XTractor Premium - A Platform for discovery , knowledge sharing, analysis and modelling of published biomedical facts. The only Knowledgebase which provides "manually" annotated facts from PubMed on a weekly basis Innovative Features like Semantic Search , Concept Linking , Bibliographic search , Save, ...

Integrated Genomics gets $250K from Wisconsin State Wisconsin will provide $250,000 to Integrated Genomics through a combination of a loan and a grant, and the company plans to relocate its laboratory and commercial operations from Chicago to Madison, the state's governor's office said Tuesday. The state will give the microbial genomics and gene expression services and technologies company a loan of $200,000 and a grant of $50,000 from the Technology Venture Fund. It said that Integrated Genomics' move could create up to 18 new jobs. Compugen Gets $500K in Grants from Israel The company plans to use the funding to pay for relocating the laboratory to Madison and to buy equipment. Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle said in a statement that Integrated Genomics "is exactly the type of company our state should be investing in – companies that are developing innovative solutions in the biotechnology industry." Compugen said today that it will receive grants totaling aroun...

A research team from the University of Maastricht, The Netherlands , found biomarkers to detect the presence of ruptured atherosclerotic plaques. They observed that the blood of individuals with ruptured atherosclerotic plaques contained antibodies reactive against two peptides, E1 and E12. The presence of these antibodies was detected extremely early after the onset of symptoms of a heart attack, according to the investigators. They caution, though, that further studies on additional patients are needed before this work can be translated into the clinic. Be a part of the XTractor community. XTractor is the first of its kind - Literature alert service , that provides manually curated and annotated sentences for the Keywords of user preference. XTractor maps the extracted entities (genes, processes, drugs, diseases etc) to multiple ontologies and enables customized report generation. With XTractor the sentences are categorized into biological significant relationships and it also ...

Molecular Connections , a life sciences informatics major, is now looking at acquiring small and medium-sized companies as part of its inorganic growth strategy. "The acquisition will depend on good technology fit and domain expertise that could plug into our products and services,'' Jignesh Bhate, CEO, Molecular Connections Pvt Ltd told Pharmabiz . "We are aggressively scouting for companies both in India and abroad. If we lay our hands on an international company, we will have access to their customers. In the case of an Indian company, we are essentially looking at a synergy in content and database,'' Bhate said. To facilitate these acquisitions, Molecular Connections has identified three options to raise funds: internal accruals, foreign loans and venture funds. The mode of raising capital will depend on the size of the deal and the company is in talks with foreign banks. Around $2 million was raised from Barings Private Equity in 2006 for expansion. Early...

Blogging previously about biomarker in, Biomarkers to Open the Door to Personalized Medicine and Represents a Seismic Shift for the Pharma Industry . Here are two interesting study on biomarkers. First one, Dr. Johan Arnlov, a researcher at Uppsala University, and lead author of a report in the May 15 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine . A bundle of four offbeat biomarkers accurately predicted the risk of death from cardiovascular disease in a study of older Swedish men, researchers report. It is just a preliminary finding in a long process that might one day lead to widespread medical use of these biomarkers in addition to well-established risk factors such as high blood pressure and cholesterol. And second one, Potential cardiovascular disease markers – CliPro™ based analysis: Introduction Quantitative analysis of proteins in body fluids for disease diagnosis has attained significant clinical relevance as it could reflect the pathophysiological state of the organism. Despi...

“For example, the presence of a specific protein in the blood or in any body fluid might indicate a specific infection. Once an association between a biomarker and a disease is clearly established, the one can be used to signal the other, and to a high degree of certainty. As well, changes in the prevalence of a biomarker in the organism can immediately and reliably signpost a patient’s response to treatment” Some pharmaceutical companies are already advancing their research and harnessing the power of biomarkers, which can: Be used to detect the predisposition for disease in a population, screen for its presence, confirm its diagnosis, assess its severity, predict its response to available therapies and measure its clinical course Be used as targets to discover new drugs Be a decisive factor in determining whether or not to continue research on an entity Show early in the development phase whether an entity could lead to side effects that should terminate further research Help to mak...