Overview

Phylos Inc.’s PROfusion combinatorial biology platform is being applied to the high-throughput discovery of high-affinity and highly specific binding proteins for research, microarray and biotherapeutic applications. A key component of the company’s business model is the Trinectin proteome chip to be used in drug discovery and functional proteomics.

Phylos uses its PROfusion technology, together with a novel human protein scaffold, to produce target-specific antibody mimics. The immediate focus is to use these antibody mimics to assemble high-throughput protein profiling chips, which initially will be used to look for proteins from biological samples such as tumor biopsies for potential novel targets.

PROfusion libraries constructed from human cells and tissues are available for studying complex disease pathways, and peptide and protein libraries can be used for target validation and drug discovery. These libraries are being applied in collaborations for a number of applications, including identification of ligands for novel receptors, phosphorylation motifs of unknown kinases, peptidomimetic molecules and high-throughput epitope mapping in drug development.

During 2001, Phylos was granted several U.S. patents that covered the basis of the PROfusion platform. The patents also covered processes by which libraries of nucleic acid-polypeptide copolymers can be constructed.

Partners

Development of high-throughput methods for protein production and automated methods for the expression and production of cellular proteins: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

Application of PROfusion technology for identification of high-affinity binding agents to potential therapeutic targets: Amgen Inc.

Development of high-affinity peptide-like agents used for anti-infective target validation and drug discovery: Cubist Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Development of next-generation Trinectin high-throughput protein profiling chip for drug discovery and functional proteomics: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Evaluation of proprietary protein scaffolds for the design of novel anticancer agents: National Cancer Institute.

Development of PROfusion technology: Hoechst Research & Technology GmbH (now Aventis SA).