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By E. Kevin Hrusovsky, PerkinElmer Inc. As the complexity and volume of data continue to rise, bioinformatics is emerging as one of the cornerstones of personalized medicine, from enabling discovery and development of novel treatments and diagnostics to facilitating collection, analysis and interpretation of data that ultimately helps an individual patient. SPECIAL REPORT PART 1: ‘Good enough’ is no longer good enough By Randall Willis, ddn Features Editor Aiming beyond the standard of care in oncology By Randall Willis, ddn Features Editor Are we really making things better for cancer patients? High-profile oncology partnership By Jim Cirigliano, ddn Contributing Editor Araxes Pharma and Janssen Biotech ink oncology drug development deal Natural neighbors By Kelsey Kaustinen, ddn Features Editor OSU, Biosortia link up to identify natural products for potential cancer treatments  |
 A rock-solid partnership
April 2012
SHARING OPTIONS:
GILBERTSVILLE, Pa.—Rockland Immunochemicals recently
announced the release of 95 antibodies as a result of a partnership with the
National Cancer Institute (NCI). The antibodies, which are involved in signal
transduction and cancer research, were developed in conjunction with the NCI’s
Center for Cancer Research (CCR).
“These Rockland antibodies are of high interest for the
cancer research community broadly and are important tools to the advance of
promising cancer research, diagnostics and therapies,” says Richard Smith,
chief operating officer at Rockland. “Rockland is intent on continuously
enhancing our portfolio of highly characterized antibodies and other reagents
critical to the life sciences.”
The partnership between Rockland and the CCR began in 2005
for the development of rabbit polyclonal antibodies “against key phospho and
non-phosphoproteins implicated in cancer,” according to the website of the
Office of Science and Technology Partnerships of the CCR. An amendment was
added in 2011 that also includes the development of mouse monoclonal
antibodies. Dr. Shoshana Segal, assistant director for technology development
in the Office of Science and Technology Partnerships, says the organization was
introduced to Rockland by the leader of one of its core facilities, which had
been engaged with Rockland in a fee-for-service agreement.
“When we first met with Rockland
and presented our partnership plan, they showed enthusiasm for working with our
scientists regardless of their investment,” says Segal. “The company recognized
the benefit of working with thought leaders in cancer research. Our scientists
know the most important antigens to target for antibody development.
Furthermore, our laboratories possess a wide variety of model systems, which
are ideally suited for testing and validating the quality and usability of the
antibodies.
“Rockland’s antibody technology platform continues to be
widely received by the research and biopharma community,” James Fendrick, CEO
of Rockland, said in a press release. “We anticipate continued success in our
antibody efforts with NCI to discover and develop both novel and existing
antibody targets that have broad application in the life-science markets.”
Rockland’s antibody work spans a
variety of indications, including cancer, immunology, cardiovascular,
neuroscience, stem cells and developmental biology. Antibodies have gained
significant popularity in the field of cancer in particular, and Smith notes,
“the commercial potential is tremendous.”
“Today, many drugs approved
for release are large-molecule therapeutics composed of antibodies. These
biologics, along with small-molecule drugs, create a need and demand for
companion diagnostics whose foundation is also antibody-based. Antibodies are
critical to diagnostics and therapies that will make affordable, personalized
cancer care possible,” he adds. “More precise delivery of cancer therapies both
increases the quality of care and enhances cost management.”
“The pace of scientific
discovery will be set by organizations that form partnerships to build a better
understanding of the disease process. Financial necessity is the mother of
collaboration today,” Smith states. “But, more importantly, the combination of
academic and industrial know-how forges sheer brilliance and entrepreneurial
spirit into a single potent force. Those leaders who capture and combine
effectively the mindshare of top scientists and entrepreneurs will deliver
results at a higher rate. Simply, these partnerships encourage worthy
innovation and exacting financial discipline that together produce commercially
sustainable scientific achievement.”
Code: E041211 Back |
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