Affitech to Play Key Role in Major EU Embryonal Tumor Pipeline Project; Proprietary Discovery Platforms to Be Utilized to Identify Fully Human Therapeutic Antibody Candidates.OSLO, Norway -- Affitech today announced that it has been selected to participate in the new European Union European Union (EU), name given since the ratification (Nov., 1993) of the Treaty of European Union, or Maastricht Treaty, to the European Community E.E.T. Pipeline project to identify fully human therapeutic antibody candidates for Embryonal Tumors embryonal tumor or embryonic tumor n. A usually malignant tumor arising during intrauterine or early postnatal development from the rudiments of an organ or from immature tissue and forming immature structures characteristic of the part from (ET) by using its unique antibody discovery platform. The E.E.T. Pipeline project is a multidisciplinary consortium of leading European institutions and SME (1) (Small and Medium-sized Enterprise) See SMB. (2) (Subject Matter Expert) An individual who is well-versed in the policies and procedures of a particular department or division. (Small and Medium Enterprise)s, which the EU is funding with EUR EUR In currencies, this is the abbreviation for the Euro. Notes: The currency market, also known as the Foreign Exchange market, is the largest financial market in the world, with a daily average volume of over US $1 trillion. 4 million for developing new methods of diagnosis and treatment for ET. Such methods would be based on gene expression profiling Microarray technology is often used for gene expression profiling. It makes use of the sequence resources created by the genome sequencing projects and other sequencing efforts to answer the question, of tumors and would include other post-genomic investigative technologies. The EU has taken this initiative since Embryonal Tumors are classified as orphan diseases, but they do not comprise large enough markets to justify the costs of drug development for the pharmaceutical industry. "Affitech has become involved in the E.E.T. Pipeline project because of the current absence of efficient targeted therapeutics for ET. We are excited about the opportunity of participating in the project, and the possibility of contributing to coordinated progress in the treatment and diagnosis of ET", commented Dr Martin Welschof, CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of Affitech. Approximately 30% of childhood malignancies are embryonal tumors, which because of their unique genetic and morphologic features often demonstrate resistance to conventional treatment approaches successful in adults. Embryonal Tumors are also associated with lower survival rates compared to other childhood cancers. However, their early manifestation in infants and young children suggests that only a limited number of genetic changes may lead to the transformed phenotype phenotype (fē`nətīp'): see genetics. phenotype All the observable characteristics of an organism, such as shape, size, colour, and behaviour, that result from the interaction of its genotype (total genetic makeup) with . Although cDNA and array -based studies have given insight into potential therapeutic targets, only a limited number of studies have addressed the functional analysis of identified target genes. Affitech's role will be to focus the power of its suite of unique antibody discovery technologies in solving this problem. Dr. Bjorn Cochlovius, Afftech's Director of R&D said, "We have utilized our highly efficient antibody libraries and high throughput screening systems to create a pipeline of multiple therapeutic cancer antibody candidates for both ourselves and our commercial partners. Therefore, we are delighted to be able to utilize our experience with several internationally recognised research groups involved in E.E.T. Pipeline consortium in identifying potential antibody therapeutics for this devastating dev·as·tate tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates 1. To lay waste; destroy. 2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. childhood disease". About Affitech AS Affitech is a human therapeutic antibody discovery and development company with headquarters and R&D facilities in Oslo, Norway and a US subsidiary in the San Francisco Bay Area “Bay Area” redirects here. For other uses, see Bay Area (disambiguation). The San Francisco Bay Area, colloquially known as the Bay Area or The Bay . The Company's current disease focus is oncology and it utilizes two discrete but unique approaches for the discovery of fully human antibodies - (i) Molecule Based Antibody Discovery, and (ii) Cell Based Antibody Discovery. The Company has concluded deals with commercial organizations such as XOMA, NatImmune, Peregrine, Viventia, Dyax, and others. Further information at www.affitech.com. |
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