Thanks for the dddmag pointer, Tuck.
Parking the two Silico Insights PRs for future ref, FWIW.
WOBURN, MA – February 6, 2002 – Silico Insights, Inc. today announced a collaboration with Genzyme Molecular Oncology (NASDAQ:GZMO) to identify and characterize novel oncogenic pathways and new drug targets. The initial focus of the partnership will be on breast cancer. The companies will work together using data from Genzyme Molecular Oncology’s proprietary SAGE™ database in combination with Silico Insights’ proprietary pathway elucidation platform, i-Sight.
“We are impressed with the capabilities demonstrated by Silico Insights’ platform in characterizing pathway behavior and interactions within large amounts of expression data,” commented Antony Newton, Director of Commercial Development at Genzyme Molecular Oncology. “We see great potential for leveraging the SAGE technology as a functional genomics platform using Silico Insights’ technology to map gene annotation, pathway interactions and proteomic profiles.”
Oncogenesis involves a host of complex pathways that regulate critical cellular processes such as cell growth, apoptosis or cell death, angiogenesis and tumor suppression. The ability to generate gene expression data from the entire genome of healthy and diseased cells allows researchers to observe all pathways and monitor specific events that signal the occurrence of disease. Silico Insights’ platform helps identify and annotate genes with similar expression behavior, assign function to unknown genes and build relationships between genes in a disease response. Furthermore, by performing proteomic studies and mapping protein profiles to gene expression, Silico Insights identifies and prioritizes specific pathway subsets that are most critical in the disease response. The availability of a quantitative framework to examine genes and pathways is not only valuable in the understanding of disease but also a highly efficient platform for identifying and validating drug targets.
“We are excited about this opportunity to study the wealth of data provided by SAGE and help elucidate critical interactions between genes and proteins in such an important disease as breast cancer,” said Dr. Nandan Padukone, President of Silico Insights. “Our expertise focuses on interpretation of complex data that map genetic and proteomic behavior into disease pathways and it is a tremendous asset to work with scientists at Genzyme Molecular Oncology and with the SAGE platform to delineate specific cancer pathways,” Dr. Padukone added.
The collaborative effort will specifically examine whole genome expression from well-defined breast cancer cells and normal breast tissue. SAGE generates a large amount of data on transcripts that are regulated, as well as those that are unchanged, during disease responses. By efficiently managing, normalizing and analyzing these data it is possible to gain greater insights into inter-dependencies of genes that may otherwise be missed.
“The key in interpreting expression and pathway profiles is always in how well you can “clean” up background noise and make sense of the real genes and proteins participating,” explained Dr. Christos Hatzis, co-founder and VP, Technology of Silico Insights. “If one can spot outliers from noise without guesswork, and then map those rapidly to protein modifications, interactions and known pathways, disease targets can just pop out. The exciting part of our technology is that in addition to individual targets, the whole defective part of the pathway lights up and the researcher can then select the best direction for drug targets,” added Dr. Hatzis...
June 24, 2002
Genzyme Molecular Oncology and Silico Insights Sign Agreement to Co-Market Genomics Technologies
FRAMINGHAM, Mass., WOBURN, Mass. --Genzyme Molecular Oncology (NASDAQ: GZMO) and Silico Insights, Inc. today announced an agreement to co-market the proprietary SAGE™ gene expression technology and i-Sight Discoveryä pathway informatics platform. When utilized together, the technologies provide scientists with a unique opportunity to better organize and view gene expression data for their specific research needs.
“By co-marketing SAGE with i-Sight, we are packaging a powerful combination of technologies to further examine gene expression, and making each one even more attractive for commercial and academic use,” stated Gail Maderis, president of Genzyme Molecular Oncology. “This collaboration offers a great deal of opportunity to researchers and will increase the value of both SAGE and i-Sight.” The serial analysis of gene expression, or SAGE technology, identifies genes that were previously not known to be associated with a disease response. i-Sight Discovery can efficiently leverage SAGE in the design of microarrays and integrate gene expression results with proteomic studies.
Genzyme Molecular Oncology and Silico Insights have recently applied the i-Sight Discovery platform to a breast cancer SAGE study, and identified unique tags and genes that promise further development as potential diagnostic and therapeutic targets. In a separate agreement, Genzyme Molecular Oncology has engaged Silico Insights to conduct a custom analysis of its proprietary tumor endothelial markers as targets for work in antiangiogenesis.
“The exciting part of our technology is that we go beyond the role of individual genes to explore entire pathways,” stated Christos Hatzis, Ph.D., co-founder and vice president of technology, Silico Insights. “Having access to the complete pathway instead of single genes allows researchers to select the best direction for disease studies and drug development.”
SAGE was developed at The Johns Hopkins University and its commercial rights are licensed exclusively to Genzyme Molecular Oncology. A large number of academic and commercial researchers are using SAGE to validate data outlined in the sequencing of the genome, and to better understand the set of instructions carried by genes to create proteins that regulate most biological activities in the body. SAGE is an integral part of Genzyme Molecular Oncology’s drug discovery efforts, with particular emphasis on the identification of novel cancer tumor antigens and inhibitors of angiogenesis. Genzyme Molecular Oncology provides SAGE for commercial use through license and service agreements.
The i-Sight platform is Silico Insights’ proprietary technology that provides comprehensive analysis of gene expression and proteomic data. Genes involved in differential response are identified and presented in interactive, user-driven formats that enable functional and pathway interpretation. The ability to observe many thousands of genes simultaneously allows the detection of genes that are expressed at very low levels in a high throughput manner. Working with SAGE, the i-Sight platform allows scientists to more clearly observe biological processes occurring in a disease or following a drug treatment...
About Silico Insights
Silico Insights, Inc., based in Woburn, MA, combines proteomics research with informatics approaches to elucidate pathways in oncology and other inflammation-based diseases. The company’s proprietary technology platform, i-Sight Discovery is focused on characterization of relationships between protein modifications and gene expression to identify gene function, protein interactions and pathways in disease responses. i-Sight Discovery is being applied to both drug discovery and clinical data to generate targets for therapeutic and diagnostic applications. Silico Insights has established a steady clientele within pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to build research efficiencies leading to accelerated drug discovery and development. For more information, please visit its web site at www.silicoinsights.com. |
