Proteomics

Alamar Biosciences scoops up $128M for proteomics platform

Tue, 27 Feb 2024 11:00:00 -0500

Alamar Biosciences Inc.’s substantially oversubscribed series C pushed the company’s total funds raised to $250 million. The company closed the first $100 million on Feb. 26 and expects to close an additional $28 million within 30 days. The target for the series C was $100 million. The funds will be used to drive market adoption of its Argo HT system and nucleic acid linked immune-sandwich assay sequencing (NULISAseq) inflammation panel 250 for deep profiling of immune response.

Proteomic signature can identify long COVID

Tue, 23 Jan 2024 09:00:00 -0500

Researchers at ETH Zurich have identified a proteomic signature that could recognize long COVID six months after acute infection. Biologically, the signature indicated that the complement system remained active in patients with long COVID six months after infection. Translationally, it could lead to a diagnostic test for long COVID, and suggests that targeting the complement system could be a therapeutic approach to prevent or treat the disorder.

Proteomic signature can identify long COVID

Fri, 19 Jan 2024 09:00:00 -0500

Alzheimer’s subtypes are step toward precision neurology

Tue, 09 Jan 2024 11:00:00 -0500

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) can be divided into five distinct subtypes based on protein expression levels measured in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The subtypes were associated with different genetic risk factors and are likely to benefit from different treatment approaches. Many clinicians, drug developers and the general public still “think of Alzheimer’s as a single disease entity, and that suggests that every patient needs to have the same medication,” Betty Tijms told BioWorld.

In 2023, big projects create ‘satellite maps’ of cell biology

Tue, 09 Jan 2024 09:00:00 -0500

In 2023, big projects create ‘satellite maps’ of cell biology

Fri, 05 Jan 2024 09:00:00 -0500

If we unraveled the DNA of the 46 chromosomes of a single human cell, it would barely measure 2 meters. If we did the same with the rest of the body, if we aligned the 3 billion base pairs of its 5 trillion cells, we could travel the distance from the Earth to the Sun more than 100 times. It seems unreachable. However, that is the unit of knowledge of the large sequencing projects achieved in 2023. From the generation of the human pangenome to cell-by-cell maps of the brain and kidneys, scientists this year have completed several omics collaborative projects stored in large international databases. Now, what’s the plan?

In 2023, big projects create ‘satellite maps’ of cell biology

Fri, 29 Dec 2023 09:00:00 -0500

Thermo Fisher offers 75% premium in $3.1B bid for Olink

Tue, 17 Oct 2023 12:00:00 -0400

Olink Holding AB likely has some euphoric investors following Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.’s announcement of an agreement to acquire the proteomics company for $26 per share in cash. The price represents a premium of nearly 75% on its recent trading average and brings the deal’s value to a stunning $3.1 billion, with net cash of $143 million.

Omics studies reveal 'Google map' of Alzheimer’s disease

Thu, 05 Oct 2023 09:00:00 -0400

The broadest view of post-mortem brains in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has unveiled the genome, transcriptome and epigenome alterations of this neurodegenerative condition. The coordinated research, directed by scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), also described new cellular pathways that could help the scientific community design new therapies. Four simultaneous studies published on Sept. 28, 2023, in Cell, presented a brain single-cell atlas of AD, exposed the damage that affects DNA, and described the processes that alter the microglia and dysregulate the epigenome.

Omics studies reveal 'Google map' of Alzheimer’s disease

Thu, 05 Oct 2023 09:00:00 -0400

Challenges in China spell trouble for Illumina, 10x and others

Fri, 08 Sep 2023 12:00:00 -0400

China’s recovery from its zero-COVID policy has failed to gain the momentum expected, with many experts predicting a slow or even negative growth rate. A slower economy, combined with a push toward self-reliance, bodes poorly for diagnostics manufacturers in the U.S. who may find themselves not just shut out of the huge market but facing stiffer competition around the globe. Further, policies designed to build a domestic next-generation sequencing industry have created headwinds for San Diego-based Illumina Inc. and others, noted Kyle Mikson and Alex Vukasin of Canaccord Genuity in an in-depth report.

Pan-cancer studies take pan-oramic view on proteogenomics

Tue, 22 Aug 2023 09:00:00 -0400

The vast variety of tumors makes each cancer a world. For researchers, understanding the commonalities and divergences in their molecular underpinnings could help find successful treatments. Scientists from the Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium (CPTAC) have addressed these similarities and differences in 10 different types of cancer with two proteogenomic studies to unravel the genes that lead to cancer and the galaxy of interactions that regulate them.

Pan-cancer studies take pan-oramic view on proteogenomics

Mon, 21 Aug 2023 09:00:00 -0400

Map of brain autophagic vesicles could be a guide for neurodegenerative research

Fri, 16 Jun 2023 09:00:00 -0400

The degradation pathways of cellular components can be shared by different molecules or selectively replace different substances and organelles. In the brain, synaptic transmission involves signaling pathways for a wide range of molecules, vesicles and receptors that require constant recycling. A proteomic study from the University of Lausanne and the University of Fribourg sheds light on brain autophagy-selective routes in adolescent, adult and aged brains.

Transcriptomic atlas classifies 40 brain diseases

Wed, 03 May 2023 09:00:00 -0400

The map of the genetic activity of the risk genes that affect the central nervous system (CNS) reveals the molecular signatures associated with the neurological pathologies in this organ. A study by researchers at McGill University in Canada and the Allen Institute for Brain Science in Washington compared 40 brain diseases with this technology and classified them into five groups whose members shared the same transcriptional pattern.

Clues to clot prevention could come from layabout bears

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 09:00:00 -0400

Researchers have gained new insights into physiological mechanisms that protect against blood clotting in immobilized individuals by studying animals that stay immobile for a good chunk of the year at a time: hibernating bears. “As a clinician, if you think about immobility, you always think about thrombosis,” Tobias Petzold told BioWorld. But his team’s work, which was published in the April 13, 2023, issue of Science, demonstrated that “immobility can trigger antithrombotic mechanisms.”

Obsessive-compulsive disorder-related proteins identified in astrocyte compartments

Thu, 13 Apr 2023 09:00:00 -0400

The analysis of thousands of proteins in the brain has revealed the association of astrocytes with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). A proteomic study by researchers from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) has identified them in different cellular compartments of astrocytes and neurons. One such protein, the postsynaptic protein SAPAP3, appeared to regulate the organization of the actin cytoskeleton. Its deficit in astrocytes could cause OCD.

Reduced RNA editing reveals mitochondrial dysfunction in schizophrenia

Tue, 11 Apr 2023 11:00:00 -0400

RNA editing in schizophrenia (SCZ)-associated genes was decreased in postmortem brains of individuals of European descent, according to a study from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). The scientists obtained the RNA editome from SCZ brains to detect the sequence changes in their RNA and observed hypoediting in noncoding regions related to mitochondrial function, such as the mitofusin-1 (MFN1) gene.

New method enables much more detailed look at exerkines, secreted proteins

Tue, 24 Jan 2023 09:00:00 -0500

Researchers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have been able to identify proteins that were released from muscles during exercise in relatively small quantities. Using their method, the team was able to demonstrate that the neurotrophic factor prosaposin was produced during exercise. Prosaposin is “a well-known CNS neurotrophic factor, but has never been seen to come out of muscle or fat,” Bruce Spiegelman told BioWorld. Spiegelman is a researcher at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Stanley J. Korsmeyer Professor of Cell Biology and Medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Nitric oxide-modified proteins reveal sex differences in Alzheimer’s

Mon, 19 Dec 2022 09:00:00 -0500

Alzheimer’s disease has a higher incidence in women. This sex difference was associated with a modification of certain proteins of the immune system. According to a recent study, the drop in estrogen with menopause increased the expression in the brain of a neurotransmitter, nitric oxide (NO), generating the S-nitrosylation of complement factor C3 (abbreviated SNO-C3), which activated the microglia.

Nomic in $17M series A funding for high-throughput proteomic platform

Wed, 08 Dec 2021 13:00:00 -0500

Protein profiling startup Nomic Bio has secured $17 million in an oversubscribed series A financing led by Lux Capital. The funds will be used to expand the company’s servicing and manufacturing labs in Montreal and Boston, to broaden access to its proteomic platform by scaling profiling capacity to 100,000 samples per quarter starting in the second quarter of 2022 and by scaling its protein-detection method, called nELISA, to 500 on-boarded proteins.

Proteomics platform developer Isoplexis looks to raise $125M in IPO

Fri, 08 Oct 2021 13:00:00 -0400

Isoplexis Corp. has debuted on the Nasdaq, pricing its initial public offering of 8.3 million common shares at $15.00 per share. Shares of the proteomics platform developer (NASDAQ:ISO) were trading slightly under at $13 following the listing. The offering is expected to close on Oct. 12, 2021. The Branford, Conn.-based company is aiming to raise $125 million from the public market to accelerate commercialization of its cell analysis platforms. The single-cell proteomics systems are automated, benchtop products designed to reduce therapeutic development timelines.

Oncohost platform predicts response to lung cancer therapy

Mon, 20 Sep 2021 13:00:00 -0400

Prophet, Oncohost Ltd.’s artificial intelligence-driven proteomics profiling platform, predicted response to immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy in non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) patients in a study presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology Virtual Congress 2021. While ICI can generate a significant positive response in some patients with advanced NSCLC, in others the therapy promotes tumor growth, making identification of likely responders prior to treatment critical.

Intervenn secures $201M for cancer-focused glycoproteomics platform

Mon, 02 Aug 2021 13:00:00 -0400

Intervenn Biosciences raised $201 million in a series C financing led by new investors Softbank Group, Heritage Provider Network, Irving Investors and Highside Capital Management. The proceeds are earmarked to speed development and commercialization of Dawn, a liquid biopsy assay for immune checkpoint inhibitor prediction, and to expand the network of partnerships on the company’s artificial intelligence (AI)-driven glycoproteomics platform.

Oncohost opens trial sites for study evaluating its AI proteomics profiling technology

Tue, 22 Jun 2021 13:00:00 -0400

Oncohost Ltd. has opened eight U.K. trial sites in the study assessing the ability of its artificial intelligence (AI)-driven proteomics profiling technology to single out which cancer patients will respond to treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors. The sites will carry out proteomic analyses of blood samples from patients with late-stage melanoma or non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), to predict their likely response to immunotherapy.

Somalogic to merge with CM Life Sciences II SPAC, as trendy IPO path continues

Mon, 29 Mar 2021 13:00:00 -0400

Somalogic Inc. has agreed to go public via a merger with blank-check company CM Life Sciences II. Upon closing, CMLS II – a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) sponsored by affiliates of Casdin Capital LLC and Corvex Management LP – will be renamed Somalogic and its common stock listed on the Nasdaq Global Market under the ticker symbol SLGC.

Oncohost nabs $8M series B round for AI-powered precision oncology platform

Fri, 22 Jan 2021 12:00:00 -0500

Oncohost nabs $8M series B round for AI-powered precision oncology platform

Thu, 21 Jan 2021 13:00:00 -0500

New funding to the tune of $8 million in series B investment moves Oncohost Ltd. a good bit closer to bringing its personalized immunotherapy prediction platform to market and key operations to the U.S. Ourcrowd, an investment platform that simplifies investment by accredited investors and others in startups, early-stage companies and venture funds, led the round. Other participants included a group of family offices and private investors.

Correlia Biosystems nabs $7 million in series A financing

Tue, 24 Nov 2020 13:00:00 -0500

Following steady expansion of its base among global pharmaceutical companies, Correlia Biosystems Inc. has secured the capital needed to make its nanotechnology-based immunoassay platform commercially available. The company received an infusion of $7 million in series A financing in a round led by Neotribe Ventures with participation by Cota Capital, the Regents of the University of California and others.