Date: May 21, 2013 Source: (
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MedImmune and KineMed Inc have formed an agreement to study how a monoclonal antibody affects the dynamics of the cellular prion protein (PrPc), which is known to have altered conformation and function in several neurodegenerative conditions including Creutzfeldt--Jakob disease and fatal familial insomnia. Recent research has also demonstrated that the prion protein may be a key component of Alzheimer's disease. KineMed's platform technology will allow MedImmune to track the prion protein, providing insight into how an antibody directed at PrPc will affect the turnover and expression of the protein at the cell surface. The MedImmune scientists working on the project are part of the AstraZeneca Neuroscience Innovative Medicines Unit.
KineMed has created a broadly enabling proprietary technology that is potentially transformative in drug development and personalised medicine. The company's Proteome Dynamics and Virtual Biopsy techniques combine broad screening capacity (hypothesis-free ‘-omics' interrogation of living systems) with functional significance (translational interpretability). KineMed's biomarkers are fully translational from animal to man, thus harmonising data across preclinical and clinical phases of development, through to the diagnosis and management of diseases including fibrotic, neurodegenerative, metabolic and cardiovascular diseases and cancer.
