Protagen and ZAP partner with Kangdi Antibody Biotech and Bejing Proteome Research Centre to develop antibodies

Dortmund, Germany and Chester, NJ, US - 16th May 2007. Protagen AG, a leading provider of products, services and software solutions for protein research, has entered into an international collaboration to develop antibodies against liver proteins. Protagen announced it’s partnership with the Centre for Applied Proteomics (ZAP), Dortmund, Schunde Kangdi Antibody Biotech, Foshan, China and the Beijing Proteome Research Centre (Beijing PRC) today at the interna¬tional symposium on High Performance Proteomics in Dortmund.

The involvement of Protagen in the collaboration will be to develop tailor-made protein biochips that can be used to analyze quantitative antibody binding profiles, as well as any off-target activities of antibody candidates. UNIchip® products of Protagen are versatile research tools that enable faster antibody development by rapidly identifying the most specific antibody candidates at an early stage of development.

ZAP will use UNIchip® of Protagen to assess around 200 monoclonal antibodies, generated by Schunde Kangdi Antibody Biotech and Beijing PRC. The results will be used to identify those antibodies that are most promising for future develop¬ment as research tools, therapeutics or for use in diagnostic kits. The industrial partners are sharing the worldwide commercialization rights for the antibodies analyzed.

Professor Helmut E. Meyer, Head of the Human Brain Proteome Project and Director of ZAP and Professor Fuchu He, Head of the Human Liver Proteome Project and president of the Beijing PRC, will share the scientific leadership on the project. The two institutes have already worked together for a number of years within the framework of the Human Proteome Organization (HUPO).

Christoph Hüls, CEO of Protagen said: “As far as I am aware, this is the first collaboration in the area of antibody development between Germany and China where research institutes and biotech companies from both countries are equally involved. This project exemplifies the ever increasing importance of international cooperation in biotechnology to help speed up the delivery of innovative products to the market. The fact that our UNIchip® products are being used to aid antibody development in China, demonstrates both our international reach and the benefits that our products can bring to the drug discovery and development process.”

Professor Meyer said: “As the proteome is so much more complex than the genome, it is more costly to research. It is therefore useful to work with a number of partners to draw on a wide range of experience and pool resources. We are looking forward to working with Protagen and tapping into the company’s exten¬sive experience in protein research to help us achieve our goals.”

About Protagen AG
Protagen (www.protagen.com) is a leading provider of products, services and software solutions for protein research. Operating internationally to provide customers with products and services of the highest quality, Protagen has offices in Dortmund, Germany and New Jersey, USA. The Company has a decade of experience in applying the most advanced protein research tools and techniques to improve the efficiency of the drug discovery and development process.
As an innovator in protein biochips, Protagen has developed UNIclone®, a patent protected platform for protein expression libraries and protein arrays, and UNIchip®, a versatile and highly efficient series of protein biochip products for antibody development. In addition, it has established UNIarrayTM, a highly efficient technology platform for biomarker discovery on an industrial scale. Protagen has recently received a BioChance Plus grant from the German government to identify biomarkers for Multiple Sclerosis and Rheumatoid Arthritis.
Protagen provides customers with a flexible service program, including protein analysis and identification, differential protein display, antibody validation and specification, antigen identification, and full data management services.

About the Centre for Applied Proteomics

The Centre for Applied Proteomics (ZAP) is a consortium of three partners: The Medical Proteome Centre (MPC, Ruhr-University Bochum), the University of Dortmund and the Biomedicine Centre Dortmund (BMZ). ZAP works in conjunction with industry, to develop protein biochips and novel methods of protein analysis.

As part of Dortmund’s ‘innovation platform’, ZAP specializes in the areas of proteomics, protein biochips, biostatistics and bioinformatics. Through developing technologies for quantitative protein analysis ZAP aims to help pharmaceutical companies perform more accurate, targeted analyses of proteomes more rapidly and at a lower cost than has been previously possible. By bringing together both academic and industrial collaborators, ZAP aims to develop products that address the needs of industry, thus facilititating their entry into the market.

Contact
Dr. Christoph Hüls
CEO
Protagen AG
Otto-Hahn-Str. 15
44227 Dortmund
Germany
Tel: +49 (0) 231 9742 6300
Fax: +49 (0) 231 9742 6301
E-Mail: info@protagen.de

Prof. Dr. Helmut E. Meyer
Director
Zentrum für Angewandte Proteomik
Otto-Hahn-Str. 15
44227 Dortmund
Germany
Tel: +49 (0) 234 32 22427
Fax: +49 (0) 234 31 14554
E-Mail: Helmut.E.Meyer@rub.de

For media enquiries
Dr. Holger Bengs
Biotech Consulting
Tel: +49 (0)69 6199 4273
Fax: +49 (0)69 6199 4249
E-Mail: info@holgerbengs.de

This release was published on openPR.