15 Aug GenTel to distribute cancer research tool
Madison, Wis. – A research tool from Michigan used in the study of some forms of cancer is almost ready for commercialization, and a Madison-based producer of protein microarray technologies is preparing to distribute it.
The novel technology, developed at the Van Andel Research Institute of Grand Rapids, measures variations in the chemical addition of a sugar molecule to a protein after its synthesis, in a process called glycosylation.
Changes in the glycosylation of proteins are associated with many types of cancer. The technology uses antibody microarrays to profile changes in glycosylation of proteins captured on the surface of a chip.
GenTel BioSciences, Inc., operating in the University Research Park, has entered into an agreement with VARI that gives GenTel the right to commercialize the microarray technology.
“This technology could lead to the discovery of disease-specific alterations in protein glycosylation as well as new diagnostic biomarkers,” VARI’s Brian Haab, inventor of the technology, said in a release.
GenTel has “demonstrated a clear understanding of the protein microarray market and has a solid plan for commercialization,” added Dave Van Andel, CEO of VARI.
GenTel plans to use the technology in combination with its PANDEIA system to label serum proteins and probe cancer biomarker-specific antibody arrays to measure protein abundance and the degree of protein glycosylation.
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