Procognia- notes from a presentation
They have a powerful tool that gives high resolution glycoanalysis using a lectin array-based method.
Currently used methods for glycoanalysis- mass spectrometry and HPLC,are complex, typically requiring high levels of expertise and days to provide answers, and are not readily available to all researcher.
They have several advantages over MS and HPLC:
Supernatant samples with no or minimal enrichment, or no purification at all.
Binding of an intact glycoprotein to the arrayed lectins (no need to prepare or use enzymes before).
Fast (few hours).
Several samples at the same time.
Less expensive.
They have performed verification of their system by comparing their glycosylation profiles of reference glycoproteins to MS and HPLC.
Different glycoproteins and different variants of those glycoproteins were compared. For most cases the match between glycosylation profiles was very high. So their method is applicable for analysis of recombinant monoclonal antibodies, FSH, clotting factors, complex biopharmaceutical glycoproteins such as erythropoietin and interferons.
Their platform works best for antibodies.
Can do also heparins (in opposed to what MNTA thinks).
Can't do monosacharides. Can't do plant driven proteins, need other lectins because their system was designed to work with mammalian cells. Analyzing plant proteind is doable but will be very expansive, that explains why PLX took their glycoanalysis business to another lab.
They know MNTA but do not see them as competitors due to the differences between their business models. They say MNTA guys were very confidential about what they do, so they never really talked.
Up to date, they have 3 big customers. The one their future depends upon is Teva.
They have an agreement with Teva to develop 2 biogeneric drugs that have annual sales of $xB and will go off patent in about 3 years (that's a nice quiz). Teva is paying all expenses and Procognia will get milestones payments, payments for significant savings in clinical trials costs and single digit royalties for 10 years.
Success In this project will get Procognia a nice stream of revenue and not less important - recognition for their method by the FDA.
Their early stage R&D focuses on quantitatively analyze changes in glycoprotein abundance and detect the extent of glycosylation alteration as well as the carbohydrate structure that correlate with cancer biomarkers for diagnosis.
Teva's president and CEO Shlomo Yanai said on the last CC that Biogenerics will be one growth engine for Teva, I think that for Procognia it will be the jump start.
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