Through the collaboration, which will start formally in January 1999, both companies will work together on a novel detection and analysis system known as 2D Fluorescent Differential Gel Electrophoresis, a technology under development by Amersham Pharmacia Biotech. This novel technology can be used to discover new targets for drug discovery by identifying disease-associated proteins. It will also be used to validate those drug discovery targets, verify mode of action and determine the selectivity of lead compounds and identify clinical markers of disease. It is this that makes such collaborations with companies like Zeneca possible, so we are really pleased that their proteomics group has selected our 2D Fluorescent Differential Gel Electrophoresis technology to help them identify more rapidly new targets for drug discovery. Our scientists will be working closely with them to develop the technology for high-throughput protein profiling.
Proteomics is an emerging technology in modern drug discovery and is complementary to genomics.
Whilst genomics, which determines the pattern of gene expression at the RNA level, is a very powerful technology, it does not provide a comprehensive and fully accurate profile of protein expression and activity. Many proteins are further changed by post-translational modifications such as the addition of phosphate groups.