DNAP News --SARASOTA, Fla., Aug 22, 2000 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- DNAPrint genomics (Pink
Sheets:DNAP) announced today the addition of the 2,000th candidate SNP to its
Phenome(SM) database. The Phenome(SM) database contains a high-density map of
SNP and haplotypes candidates for certain human genes of pharmacogenomic and
cancer genetics value. This is believed to be one of the highest resolution SNP
maps for genes of critical import to these two fields, and will be used by the
company in conjunction with the public SNP database, as a platform upon which
the companies work will be performed. The milestone of having made the 2,000th
addition to this database allows the company the opportunity to share with its
shareholders the value of the database and to highlight the DNAPrint genomics
approach.
The SNP consortium is slated to add a large collection of SNPs and corresponding
sub-population allele frequencies to the public database. The value of this
database is its widespread coverage of the human genome and its accessibility
free of charge to researchers all over the world. The genome wide coverage of
the public SNP database make it well suited for genome-wide linkage studies
which will require a SNP, on average, every 3Kb of the human genome. These types
of systematic studies will allow workers to identify important linkage
disequilibria, or "physical relationships" between SNPs and disease/trait genes.
Targeted Scanning is an alternative to systematic genome wide scanning, and
focuses on surveying smaller number of genes in greater detail. The value of
this approach can be appreciated from the decades of research that have
contributed to our understanding of human disease. Studies of drug metabolism
and cancer have shown a relatively small collection of genes, and gene types, to
be responsible for a vast majority of problems. Pharmacogenetic studies have
shown that polymorphism in xenobiotic metabolism proteins such as cytochrome
p450 genes and N-acetyltransferases, among others to be associated with aberrant
drug metabolism, resulting in some cases in hepatocellular toxicity or other
"side-effects". Work in the field of cancer has shown that mutations in genes
normally involved in these genes, as well as other basic tasks such as cell
cycle regulation and DNA repair play important roles for this disease. Thus,
certain phenotypic traits such as drug metabolism or cancer, are well suited for
a targeted scanning study design.
Notwithstanding its tremendous value, the pan-genome coverage of the public
database comes at the expense of individual gene resolution. Since the public
SNP database will contain relatively few SNPs for most human genes, there is and
will remain a need for higher resolution SNP maps for many of the most
"important" genes of clinical value. The public resources will contain no
information on genetic haplotypes, or phase coupled genotype sets, which have
considerable power for discovering genotype-phenotype associations. Further, the
public SNP database will not be available publicly for some time. Lastly, most
of the public SNP database will have come from healthy donors used for the human
genome project and related efforts and therefore may biased against SNPs which
play a role in human pathologies.
Because of these anticipated deficiencies, DNAPrint genomics has been building
its own candidate SNP and Haplotype database, called the Phenome(SM) database.
The database focuses on many of the most "important" human drug metabolism and
disease genes whose function is compromised in certain individuals who show drug
side-effects or neoplastic disease. The database serves as a foundation for
virtually any pharmacogenomic or cancer genetic study and is derived from two
main sources: the application of a proprietary and automated set of data mining
algorithms to the public (NCBI) EST/mRNA and Gene database, and through a
process called "re-sequencing" where the large regions of the genes are actually
sequenced from target patient groups. Resequencing involves obtaining long read
sequences in contrast to single base, high-throughput SNP scoring which relies
on the existence of an accurate SNP map such as the Phenome(SM) or public
database. Candidate SNPs are accompanied by extensive annotation and 200bp of
flanking DNA sequence that facilitates SNP scoring study design. SNPs for over
100 "important" human genes have been discovered, and approximately 20
high-quality candidate SNPs have been identified for each of these genes. The
density of high quality SNP candidates within these genes is higher than the
frequency of SNPs expected in the human genome from work by others
(approximately 1 per 1000 base pairs). Further, the average gene in the
Phenome(SM) database contains over 10 times the number of candidate SNPs that
are currently available in the public database. SNPs for many of these genes
have been discovered to be part of major population Haplotypes. The company will
use this proprietary database as a foundation for its first SNP/Haplotype
association and linkage disequilibrium studies for Pharmacogenomics and breast
cancer. In addition to providing a proprietary database resource platform not
available through the public SNP database, it enables the company to conduct
detailed and high-resolution studies well in advance of those organizations
awaiting the completion of the public database.
The Phenome(SM) database recently recorded its 2000th entry, and is scheduled to
add its 5,000th entry later this year. To the companies knowledge, it is one of
the first databases of its kind to focus on resolution within "important" genes
rather than across the entire genome, and will offer the company a decided
advantage in its high-throughput SNP/Haplotype scoring studies. The company
intends to copyright the database, and patent its components discovered to be
associated with clinical pathologies as "diagnomics" products.
About DNAPrint genomics
DNAPrint genomics, Inc. provides practitioners of genomic research and
personalized medicine with a comprehensive system for complex trait dissection
and patient classification. DNAPrint genomics Inc. was founded by a group of
scientists with research and commercial experience in high-level mathematical
modeling, programming and molecular genetics. For more information about the
company, please visit www.dnaprint.com.
Except for factual statements made herein, the information contained in this
press release consists of forward-looking statements that involve risks and
uncertainties. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those
contained in such statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such
differences include unexpected shortages of critical components, rescheduling or
cancellation of customer orders, the timing and market acceptance of new product
introductions by the Company and its competitors, and general competition and
price pressures in the marketplace
CONTACT: DNAPrint genomics, Inc., Sarasota
For scientific inquiries please contact:
Dr. Tony Frudakis, 941/351-4543
or
All other inquiries please contact:
Richard Craig Hall, 941/341-0136 |
