Domainex, Sigma-Aldrich enter collaboration to study epigenetic proteins

Domainex Ltd., the Contract Research Organization committed to excellence in drug discovery, today announced a collaboration with Sigma-Aldrich (Nasdaq: SIAL) that will provide essential tools, including biochemical assays and monoclonal antibodies, for the study of proteins involved in the rapidly developing field of epigenetics. These epigenetic proteins regulate DNA expression and can be critical to cancer and stem cell biology research.   Funding from the UK Government-backed Technology Strategy Board will support this work.

Under the collaboration, Domainex will use its proprietary Combinatorial Domain Hunting (CDH) technology, which enables researchers to clone and express challenging proteins, to produce soluble domains of a number of proteins that have key roles in epigenetics. Domainex will use those proteins to construct biochemical assays for the target enzymes, and Sigma-Aldrich will use the proteins as antigens to raise specific monoclonal antibodies. The assays and monoclonal antibodies, which will be distributed by Sigma-Aldrich, will be used by researchers to identify the target proteins and allow their function to be characterized and studied in detail.

Dr. Eddy Littler, CEO of Domainex, said, "The Domainex research pipeline contains several projects aimed at proteins involved in epigenetics and cancer. With the support of the Technology Strategy Board we will be able to develop useful biochemical assays for these targets. We are particularly excited about our collaboration with Sigma-Aldrich, as it is a leading company in the development of monoclonal antibodies for commercial use. It is very rewarding to be able to make a contribution to the study of proteins involved in epigenetics and disease."

SOURCE Domainex Ltd.,