ABINGDON, England, Jan. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Confirmant Ltd., a provider of innovative bio-information, today announced that the University of Pennsylvania has licensed The Protein Atlas of the Human Genome(TM), a powerful proteomics database for understanding the underlying molecular mechanisms of disease.
The multi-year license will give researchers at the University of Pennsylvania access to Confirmant's proprietary database of experimentally derived, protein-coding genes and their expression in a wide variety of normal and diseased samples. Financial and intellectual property details of the research partnership were not revealed.
"The University of Pennsylvania is recognized worldwide as a leading research institution, and we are pleased it has selected the Protein Atlas to aid in its disease research efforts," stated David Palmer, Confirmant's CEO.
According to Dr. Michael Liebman, Director of Computational Biology, Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute (AFCRI) of the University of Pennsylvania, "We chose the Protein Atlas because of its unique, protein-centric view of the human genome. This resource is not only scientifically unique in its breadth, but is also not commercially available elsewhere. We believe our research into mechanisms of cancer will be greatly enhanced by the Protein Atlas data."
Notes for Editors:
Background on The Protein Atlas of the Human Genome(TM)
Proteins, the true drivers of cellular function, play a key role in the cause and treatment of disease. The Protein Atlas of the Human Genome is a combined genomics and proteomics database of some 11,000 protein-coding genes, their fine structure, as well as the protein variants they encode. Unlike existing databases that use DNA/RNA information to predict genes and proteins, the underlying foundation of the Protein Atlas are the proteins themselves.
The Protein Atlas is designed to overcome the inaccuracies associated with computational gene predictions, while also providing valuable information regarding the protein complement of many different tissues, cell lines and body fluids. Data was experimentally derived using proprietary technologies developed by Oxford GlycoSciences -- one of the world leaders in high-throughput proteomics -- to obtain peptide sequences that can be mapped back to the human genome to unambiguously define the gene structure.
About the University of Pennsylvania
Recognized as America's first university, the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) is a world-renowned center for the creation and dissemination of knowledge. Penn currently ranks as one of the premier research universities in the United States with more than $500 million in annual R & D expenditures and serves as a model for research colleges and universities throughout the world. The Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute is a privately endowed institute of the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania funded by the Leonard and Madelyn Abramson Family Foundation.
About Confirmant, Ltd.
The Protein Atlas of the Human Genome is the first product of Confirmant Ltd., a joint venture between Oxford GlycoSciences Plc (Nasdaq: OGSI - News; LSE: OGS - News) and Marconi (LSE: MONI - News), based in Abingdon, United Kingdom. Confirmant provides novel and unique post-genomic bio-information to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical research communities. The Protein Atlas database is the first definitive database of human proteins, their variants and the genes they encode. This information will more reliably aid in the identification and validation of drug targets and disease biomarkers, resulting in faster and more effective development of new treatments and diagnostics. For more information, see www.confirmant.com. |
