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Biotech / Medical : Oxford GlycoSciences Plc -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: nigel bates who wrote (33)	5/4/2000 9:42:00 AM
From: nigel bates	Respond to of 469

May 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Oxford GlycoSciences Plc (London: OGS) today announced that it has filed a further patent application in breast cancer. This filing, together with two others made in the last eight weeks and an earlier filing last year, covers proteins found on the surface membranes of breast cancer cells, proteins within breast cancer cells, and serum protein markers of breast cancer. These groups of proteins represent potential targets for antibody therapy, small molecule drugs, and markers respectively. The identification of each of these groups of proteins in a series of linked studies represents a new model for target and marker discovery to be conducted in parallel. ``OGS's approach to the discovery of novel disease associated proteins represents a new paradigm for the holistic, hypothesis-free dissection of disease at the molecular level,'' said Professor Raj Parekh, OGS's Chief Scientific Officer. ``We believe that the breast cancer study we have conducted is the first time a proteomics study of this breadth has been performed in any disease. We set out to run a broad study designed to find proteins implicated in breast cancer by looking in the actual tumour tissue from patients with the disease. This has allowed us to find out which disease-associated proteins are located on the surface of tumour cells where they are potentially accessible by antibody-based therapies, and which are found within the tumour cell where they represent potential targets for chemotherapy drugs. We have also found disease-associated proteins in the serum of these patients, which have potential use in tracking disease and monitoring the effectiveness of therapy.'' Dr. Martin Page, Director of Biology at OGS added, ``Proteins which are secreted from cancer cells into the circulatory system, or induced in response to the cancer cannot be measured in serum by genomics technologies. Additionally, genomics technologies provide information on which proteins may be located on the surface of patients' tumour cells or secreted by cancer cells by making predictions based on the structure of genes. In contrast, proteomics can identify those proteins which are actually present on cell surfaces or are actually secreted into the serum by analysing these proteins directly. This can decrease the uncertainty associated with genomics based predictions of which proteins in a cancer cell may offer potential as targets for drug treatment or markers for monitoring therapy.'' OGS's research in breast cancer includes a collaboration with the Ludwig Institutes of Cancer Research (LICR) in which LICR collect and purify tumour material from selected patients suffering from breast cancer. Purification of tissue material is important to the quality of the data derived from proteomics analysis. In addition to its ongoing internal proteomics programmes in breast, prostate, and primary liver cancer and central nervous system disorders, OGS has collaborative research programmes with Incyte in gene and protein linked subscription database products, as well as disease specific programmes with Pfizer, Merck, and Bayer. Also, OGS has a collaboration in the use of proteomics in toxicology and pharmacology with Quintiles. Oxford GlycoSciences is an established biotechnology company founded as a technology spin-out from Oxford University in 1988. The Directors believe that OGS is today recognised as having a leading position in proteomics and in applying proteomics in pharmaceutical research and development. The Company is utilising its proprietary suite of technologies, (ProteoGraph(TM)), as well as its advanced bioinformatics software (ROSETTA(TM)), in corporate collaborations with Pfizer, Pioneer Hi-Bred/DuPont, Merck, Incyte and Quintiles, as well as through Incyte and OGS database subscription programmes with pharmaceutical companies. OGS' most advanced product, OGT 918, is in Phase I/II clinical trials in glycolipid storage diseases and the Company also has drug discovery programmes in oncology, inflammation, and infectious disease.