Project BriefOpen Competition 1 - BiotechnologyImmobilized Carbohydrate-Based Drug Discovery TechnologiesDevelop a set of highly reliable assay, solid-phase carbohydrate synthesis, and surface detection methods that will enable carbohydrate-based discovery. Sponsor: Surface Logix, Inc.50 Soldiers Field PlaceBrighton, MA 02135
Carbohydrates -- complex molecules involved in almost all essential life processes -- have been linked to several diseases, including cancer, infectious diseases, and neurodegenerative disorders. Analysis of carbohydrates and their interactions with proteins is therefore important to the development of new therapeutics and diagnostics, but is very difficult to do. One major obstacle is that the complex chemical structure of carbohydrates makes them difficult to synthesize, which in turn makes it difficult to access the carbohydrate content needed for modern, high-throughput approaches to drug discovery. Surface Logix and partner Ancora Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Cambridge, Mass.) plan a three-year project to facilitate carbohydrate-based drug discovery and research by developing and integrating a variety of new tools tailored to carbohydrate production and detection of their interactions. These tools include automated synthesis methods to rapidly produce complex carbohydrates Ancora), a unique surface chemistry platform with which to present these molecules, and a surface-based detection system (Surface Logix). These tools will be used to design quantitative, reproducible assays containing many of the carbohydrate variants found in specific biological interactions. These assays will be configured to measure key interactions between carbohydrates and other biomolecules. The ATP funding will accelerate initiation of the research by three years. If the new technology is successfully developed and commercialized, new drugs could be discovered for the treatment of disorders mediated by or exploiting carbohydrate interactions, resulting in billions of dollars of new revenue for the pharmaceutical industry. The technology could be used to screen new drug targets, develop new diagnostics, improve understanding of the role of carbohydrates in biology and disease, and develop coatings for medical devices and anti-infective agents for agricultural use. Benefits will also accrue in other areas, such as the fermentation industry and homeland security.
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