What do you folks make of this? Hot air? Or a real threat to currently public companies?
>>Tuesday April 17, 11:02 am Eastern Time
Press Release
SOURCE: Semorex Inc.
New Class of Synthetic Antibodies Are More Selective, More Potent Than Natural Proteins
'Super' Imprinted Polymers May Yield New Drugs, Research Tools, And Diagnostics
NEW YORK, APRIL 17 /PRNewswire/ -- A new class of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) has the ability to bind to small molecules and to target molecules such as organics and proteins' with equal or greater potency than that of natural antibodies. These ``super'' MIPs work at lower concentrations than natural counterparts, with the potential for greater stability, lower costs, and customized manufacture than has been possible, according to scientists from Semorex Inc., a Jerusalem-based biotechnology company. Discovery of the new ``super'' MIPs was disclosed today at an immunology meeting in New York.
"The superior affinity and synthetic origins of these super MIPs will make
possible the development of 'smart drugs', improved diagnostic and
research tools that can be programmed to selectively bind to target
molecules, proteins and other substances," said Bernard Green, Ph.D.,
Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Hebrew
University School of Pharmacy in Jerusalem, and Chief Scientific Officer
of Semorex. "These new MIPs offer substantial benefits over earlier
generations, and their enhanced binding abilities can be extended to
other compounds.
"We expect the advent of these 'super' MIPs to hasten broader study and
eventual commercialization of this highly promising class of polymers."
MIPs utilize a proprietary combination of functional monomers and other components. During MIP synthesis, these polymers are imprinted so as to have complementary size, shape, charge and functional groups of the selected target by using the target molecule itself, or a substance having a very similar structure, as its ``print'' or ``template.''
Previously, Semorex announced the first generation of MIPs that selectively bind to toxins linked to the onset of heart disease and several major cancers. Development of these polymers is expected to facilitate new treatments for these diseases, through the use of non-absorbable pills that cannot enter the bloodstream.
``'Super' MIPs appear to effectively bind target molecules at far lower concentrations, and with greater potency, than earlier MIPs,'' Dr. Green noted. ``Like antibodies, fluorescent 'super' MIPs can be coated onto beads or wells for use in highly sensitive separation or assay, or for use in high throughput screening of proteins. Simpler, less expensive and more stable immunoassays for use in diagnostic tests may be developed, as can new generations of orally available therapeutics which act solely to rapidly absorb targeted substances in the gastrointestinal tract.''
Semorex focuses on the discovery, development and commercialization of advanced polymer systems for use as therapeutics and diagnostics. An international consortium of biologists, physicians, chemists and polymer scientists formed the Company in order to develop polymeric systems that mimic the selectivity of antibodies but have the stability and ease of manufacture of traditional synthetic systems. Semorex has filed for patents covering its unique classes of MIPs and other synthetic compounds as well as special production techniques.
Members of the Semorex Scientific Advisory Board include:
-- Prof. Guenter Wulff (University of Dusseldorf, Germany; founder of
imprinted polymer technology)
-- Prof. Abraham J. Domb (Hebrew University, Jerusalem; polymer drug
development & delivery)
-- Prof. Fred Konikoff (Ichilov Medical Center, Tel Aviv;
gastroenterology)
Semorex is managed by Prof. Green and Morris Priwler, an entrepreneur with experience in the biotechnology field. The Company's Board of Directors includes Dr. Sol Barer, the President and Chief Operating Officer of Celgene Corporation, Warren, NJ; Leslie Misrock, a senior partner at Pennie & Edmonds, Patent Attorneys, New York City, and Dr. Jerome Zeldis, Vice President of Medical Affairs and Chief Medical Officer of Celgene Corporation.<<
I know Celgene is well thought of by V1, FWIW. If the discovery is just being announced, I would guess there aren't any directly relevant abstracts, BWDIK (edit: there might be some that presage this, but no useful ones that MedLine can get an abstract for)?
Cheers, Tuck |
