SARASOTA, Fla. ? DNAPrint Genomics Inc. announced that it has selected Proteos Inc. to manufacture the first batch of its new therapeutic candidate PT-401 (super-EPO dimer) for pre-clinical testing.
Proteos was founded by eight scientists following the August 2002 acquisition of Pharmacia by Pfizer. The company is based in the Southwest Michigan Innovation Center at Western Michigan University?s Business Research & Technology Park.
DNAPrint Chief Medical Officer Hector Gomez, M.D., Ph. D, cited the 20+ years experience of Proteos? scientists in ?protein and peptide chemistry? and its ?proven ability as a contract research organization (CRO) dealing with biologically complex therapeutics,” as a critical components of the company?s decision to award the contract.
“The selection of Proteos is the culmination of a competitive bidding process solicited by DNAPrint management,? Gomez said. In addition, Proteos’ staff has previously worked with erythropoietin (EPO), the simpler, monomer form of the drug that major pharmaceutical companies currently have on the market.”
DNAPrint announced in April that it has acquired an exclusive worldwide license from Harvard Medical School’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) to develop a new, more potent and longer acting form of the anemia drug Erythropoietin (EPO). DNAPrint is working on the project with Dr. Arthur J. Sytkowski, Director for the Laboratory for Cell and Molecular Biology, Division of Hematology and Oncology at Beth Israel Deaconess. The PT-401 to be manufactured by Proteos will be used to generate pre-clinical data required for an Investigational New Drug (IND) application as required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
“We are now beginning the clinical development process and today’s announcement is a major step for DNAPrint toward compiling the data for its first IND application,” said President and Chief Executive Officer Richard Gabriel. “Dr. Sytkowski, who has worked his entire career on Erythropoietin and similar molecules, and Dr. Gomez, selected Proteos for its technical skills and background and will monitor the data collection very closely.”
DNAPrint also announced that it has agreed to a six-month contract with Dr. Sytkowski to provide continued support for the completion of the PT-401 clinical research program.
“Dr. Sytkowski holds eight patents covering this technology, brings a knowledge base to the development of our licensed product, and his agreement is structured to give him appropriate incentives to help move the product through clinical development,” Dr. Gomez said.
