Hybrigenics and Dualsystems Biotech AG Enter into Strategic Partnership
Yeast two-hybrid technology is widely and successfully used to identify protein interactions. However, some full membrane proteins are difficult to study with the gold standard methods. The DUALmembrane yeast two-hybrid technology invented and patented by Dualsystems, based in Schlieren (Switzerland), has been especially designed to screen for membrane protein interactions. It is relevant for example for membrane receptors which represent as much as 40% of all targets for drugs on the market or still in pharmaceutical development.
Both Dualsystems and Hybrigenics will commercialize DUALmembrane screens. These will be performed exclusively on Hybrigenics' ISO 9001-certified industrial platform. This strategic partnership, based on a profit-sharing scheme, will boost Dualsystems' commercial and production volumes for its membrane technology, and will nicely complement Hybrigenics' wide range of protein interaction services offered to clients from all life sciences.
"We are delighted that our technology has been recognized as of special interest by Hybrigenics. DUALmembrane sales will certainly be boosted by this partnership." commented Daniel Auerbach, Dualsystems' CEO. "We count on DUALmembrane to answer unmet service needs for membrane protein interactions, especially towards commercial prospects from the pharmaceutical industry." added Rémi Delansorne, Hybrigenics' CEO. "We expect a positive contribution to our turnover from this new service".
About Hybrigenics Hybrigenics is a bio-pharmaceutical company focusing its internal R&D programs on innovative targets and therapies for the treatment of cancer through its Hybrigenics Pharma unit. Hybrigenics Pharma's development program is based on inecalcitol, a vitamin D analogue more powerful and less toxic than calcitriol, the naturally active form of vitamin D. Inecalcitol is being developed for the treatment of hormone-resistant prostate cancer in combination with Sanofi-Aventis' Taxotere(R), which is the current gold-standard chemotherapeutic treatment for this indication. Hybrigenics Pharma's research program explores the role of enzymes known as ubiquitin-specific proteases (USP) in the degradation of oncoproteins, and the effectiveness of proprietary USP inhibitors in treating various types of cancer.
Hybrigenics also offers a range of services to identify, validate and inhibit protein interactions to researchers in all areas of life sciences through its Hybrigenics Services unit, using its ISO 9001-certified high-throughput Yeast-Two Hybrid (Y2H) screening platform, its sophisticated bioinformatics tools and extensive database, along with its chemical library and chemical screening platform.
About Dualsystems Dualsystems Biotech is a major supplier of custom services and products to the academic and industry life sciences market. Over the past six years, the company has brought to the market several assays for the identification and characterization of protein interactions in vivo and has established a powerful cDNA library construction platform. It also holds significant intellectual property in this area. Dualsystems' DUALmembrane and DUALhunter technologies allow researchers to investigate interactions involving integral membrane proteins, membrane-associated proteins and nuclear proteins. They are marketed by Dualsystems as custom services and ready-to-use kits. The company has recently expanded its services portfolio to include a drug profiling platform for investigation of interactions between drugs and their cellular targets. Drug profiling or repositioning is increasingly being recognized by the pharmaceutical industry as a promising route to finding novel indications for existing drugs on the market.
Newcap Financial Communication Axelle Vuillermet / Pierre Laurent Tel : +33 1 44 71 94 94 hybrigenics@newcap.fr
Neil Hunter ANDREW LLOYD & ASSOCIATES http://www.ala.com neil@ala.com