This article provides a brief commentary on International Business Communication's recent conference on Proteomics, held February 17-19, 1999 in London, UK.

Proteomics is an emerging discipline that seeks to ascribe functionality to the various protein-based biological pathways in the body. Proteomics has gained significance in recent years given the trend towards rational methods in drug discovery. These methods involve the characterization of genes that play a role in various biological pathways and the subsequent characterization of the proteins involved in these pathways.

The venue for the recent Proteomics conference in London offered delegates the opportunity to interact with members of the emerging European biotechnology industry, together with their big pharmaceutical cousins. Primary areas of discussion included:

• Proteome analysis and biological function
• Protein analysis, identification and characterization
• Application of proteomics in drug discovery, clinical development and diagnostics
• Structural bioinformatics: informatic solutions for proteomics.

Proteomics is currently an amorphous science involving a set of technologies mostly developed in the academic community for probing into biology. There is not much that can be commercialized from the discipline of proteomics at present, as the majority of associated technologies are not robust enough to be implemented into an "assembly line" approach [this is in contrast to much of the genomics paradigm, which has, to a large extent, been industrialized and roboticized]. This serves as a key challenge restraining the acceptance of proteomics as a bona fide independent entity in the biopharmaceutical community. A good example, extensively discussed at the conference, is the development and use of protein chips [analogous to DNA microchips, these chips contain proteins, or pieces thereof, on a solid support]. Protein chips are far less robust than DNA chips. The proteins on the chip are fragile; they need to be kept in defined environmental conditions and are therefore less "industrialized."

The opportunity in the proteomics space is derived from the fact that proteins, and not genes, hold the keys to biology. If the genes provide the maps, then the proteins provide the machinery in the body. As such, pharmaceutical entities (i.e. drugs that are sold, bring in revenue and drive the whole process) target abnormal protein(s) or pathways thereof. Ultimately, therefore, protein-protein interaction studies, and related tools, techniques and services, are a bigger market than genomics will ever be. There are a finite number of genes in the genome - the proteome is constantly changing and is therefore, theoretically, infinite. This is the basic opportunity in proteomics, and was the evident theme at the recent conference.

The following figure, borrowed from a presentation by MPM Capital, LLC (Cambridge, MA), portrays the synergy between genomics, protein identification/interaction mapping [proteomics], bioinformatics and, finally, the total identification of targets for drug discovery and development - the ensemble in modern drug discovery.

Figure 1

The following list presents some of the proteomics players in Europe - these companies were represented at the recent conference.

Biovation (Aberdeen, UK)

Protein microarrays ("protein chips") to automate, and render high-throughput, the analysis of a "whole ensemble of proteins at a time," similar to the case with DNA microchips

Cambridge Anta (Melbourne, UK)

Phage libraries for differential protein expression in normal versus diseased tissues

Hybrigenics, SA (Paris, France)

Functional proteomics company - aiming to define protein-protein interactions of biological significance utilizing the yeast two-hybrid system

Oxford Glycosciences (Abingdon, UK)

High-throughput sequencing of proteins and associated informatics (OGS has a deal with Incyte Pharmaceuticals of Palo Alto, CA to construct a database of protein sequences, LifeProt tm

Proteome Sciences (London, UK)

2D gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry to define protein expression in disease pathways. The idea herein is to characterize low abundance proteins that may have significance in disease

The Brax Group (Cambridge, UK)

Automation of the 2D-gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry technique by elimination of the low-throughput 2D electrophoresis step

Xerion Pharmaceuticals (Martinsried, Germany)

Functional proteomics company - looking to "selectively knock-out" proteins in vitro (and thereby study their function)

For more information on this or any other IBC-sponsored conferences held in Europe, please visit http://www.ibc-uk.com.

This article was prepared by Enal S. Razvi, Ph.D. Director of Business Development at LJL BioSystems, Inc. (Sunnyvale, CA) and a Session Chairman and speaker at the above conference.

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