Sugen Moving Ahead On Transcript Imaging

Sugen, Inc. (South San Francisco, CA) has been awarded a U.S. Patent on its transcript imaging technology. Transcript imaging is an enabling technology that allows Sugen to identify signaling pathways that play key roles in specific cell types and to compare diseased cells to healthy cells to determine where aberrant signaling may play a causative role in a disease. The patent, entitled "Assay And Method For Transcript Imaging" (U.S. Patent No. 5,830,648) covers methods and assays for simultaneously detecting and quantifying the expression levels of a panel of several hundred tyrosine kinases (TKs) or tyrosine phosphatases (TPs) from a biological sample.

Sugen's development strategy exploits cellular signal transduction.

"Transcript imaging has the potential to play an important role in the future of pharmacogenomics," said Stephen Evans-Freke, Sugen chairman and CEO. "For example, it may be used in cancer diagnostics as a cost-effective and accurate way to genotype tumors, so that the patient can then be treated according to the specific biological drivers of the disease."

Using transcript imaging to identify novel therapeutic targets, researchers can take a small amount of material, such as cells from a tumor sample, and obtain a systematic analysis of expression levels for all known TKs and TPs. Those genes overexpressed in diseased versus normal tissue are then selected as potential molecular candidates for drug discovery and moved into target validation. Transcript imaging technology has already helped Sugen select drug targets for oncology, angiogenesis, and immunology-related diseases.

These signaling pathways are regulated by cell surface receptors or intracellular signaling molecules known as tyrosine kinases (TKs), serine-threonine kinases (STKs) and tyrosine phosphatases (TPs). Aberrant signaling of TKs, STKs and TPs has been shown to result in a variety of chronic and acute pathological diseases, including cancer and diabetes as well as dermatologic, ophthalmic, neurologic and immune disorders.

Tyrosine kinase and tyrosine phosphatases are cell signaling enzymes. The kinases phosphorylate target proteins such as Her2, PDGF TK, insulin TK, and Flk-1/KDR. Phosphatases remove phosphates from target proteins, thereby reversing the action of tyrosine kinases.

For more information: D. Kevin Kwok, Sugen, Inc., 230 East Grand Ave., South San Francisco, CA 94080. Tel: 650-553-8300.