Semiotik, a portfolio company of Biofund RVK, and the Indian company Yashraj Biotechnology Ltd., a top-20 member of the Indian pharmaceutical market, have concluded an agreement to supply a carbohydrate microchip (glikochip) used in research for the quantitative determination of glycan-binding proteins.
The glikochip, made by Semiotik, is a thin plate made of plastic that contains a library of polysaccharides (glycans), built up over the past 30 years. The chip can hold up to 600 glycans, and with their assistance, diagnose about a hundred diseases. In particular, it can be used for the diagnosis of infectious diseases, autoimmune diseases, and cancer.
A study conducted by experts of the Indian company Yashraj Biotechnology Ltd. using a glikochip from Semiotik, which contained 400 glycans, found that two of seven antibodies specifically bind with carbohydrate ligands. These data open the prospects of targeted bioengineering of new antibodies, intended for the diagnosis and therapy of malignant tumors.
The concept of this unique microchip was born and developed in the Shemyakin-Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry of RAS by a carbohydrates laboratory team, in conjunction with New York University, which is providing assistance in conducting clinical studies, certification, and licensing of the microchip for the markets of Russia, CIS countries, and the United States.
Today Semiotik microchips are already being used in several scientific and medical centers in Russia, Switzerland, Spain, Bulgaria, and the USA.
“On the example of our cooperation with Yashraj Biotechnology Ltd., we see a demand for the glikochip platform, developed by Semiotik, to perform complex research tasks, seeking diagnostic biomarkers, not only in Russia but also in other countries, said Egor Beketov, General Director of Biofund RVK.
All rights reserved by Rossiyskaya Gazeta.
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