They do things differently in Germany. Imagine reading "...the US government's belief in DNA-methylation as a full-fledged source of information, at least equal to the other three sources in genomics..."
Just doesn't ring true, does it ? <g>
BERLIN, Germany & SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 16, 2001-- Epigenomics AG, a transatlantic biotech company pioneering applications of DNA methylation, announced today that it will play a pivotal role in a DM 5,34 Mio million (Euros 2,7 million) research project funded in part by the German Ministry of Education and Research (Bundesministerium fur Bildung und Forschung).
The project will promote the further development of a high-throughput technology to detect methylation patterns in human DNA over the next three years. Joining Epigenomics in the project are Dr. Jorg Hoheisel from the German Cancer Research Center, DKFZ, Heidelberg, and Dr. Ronald Frank from the German Research Centre for Biotechnology, (GBF).
``We believe that beyond the widely accepted SNP-detection, mRNA expression typing, and proteomics, the detection of DNA-methylation can provide substantial value-added results on the way towards developing personalized medicines,'' stated Dr. Kurt Berlin, CSO of Epigenomics. ``The grant reflects the support and understanding of the German government's belief in DNA-methylation as a full-fledged source of information, at least equal to the other three sources in genomics.''
The further enhancement of a high-throughput technology to detect and interpret methylated cytosine (mC), DNA's fifth base, will assist in mapping the entire human epi-genome (pinpointing all of the mCs on the human genome). As methylation is a naturally occurring mechanism for switching on and off genes, each tissue has a specific methylation pattern that helps keep gene expression in balance. This means an abnormal sequence in the pattern of mCs in active genes is reflected in disease. An international consortium of leading scientists, the Human Epigenome Consortium, has already started to reveal the methylation pattern of each tissue in its healthy state and to make these data publicly available. Epigenomics and its partners from DKFZ and GBF are providing the high-throughput technology to pursue this goal.
``We are extremely pleased to extend the scope of our high-throughput parallel synthesis technology to this fascinating novel field of medical diagnostics,'' said Dr. Ronald Frank, Head of the research group for ``Molecular Recognition'' at the GBF.
``Moving towards a methylation-map of DNA represents the logical next step from Human Genome Project,'' added Dr. Jorg Hoheisel, Head of the division for functional genome analysis at DKFZ. ``We are thrilled to see that the Ministry has acknowledged the importance of DNA-methylation.''
Epigenomics is a transatlantic biotechnology company, with headquarters in Berlin, Germany and its wholly owned subsidiary in Seattle, Washington, USA, pioneering tomorrow's personalized medicines. By detecting DNA methylation patterns, the ``on'' and ``off'' signs for genes, Epigenomics can create a digitized readout (Digital Phenotype(r)) for each tissue. The comparison of healthy and sick tissue enables an exact diagnosis of disease at a very early stage and reveals new therapeutic opportunities. The combination of diagnosis and therapy, based on this epigenetic information and our robust proprietary technology, is leading the way to improving patients' quality of life. Epigenomics is the world's first and only company focusing exclusively on DNA methylation and its importance in the post-genomic age, and is supported by the world's premier network of academic researchers and clinicians with expertise in the field of cancer and DNA methylation. For further information, please visit our website at www.epigenomics.com. |
