Althea Awarded Technology Grant
Althea receives Phase I Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Institutes of Health
SAN DIEGO – May 5, 2003 – Althea Technologies, Inc., a leading provider of gene-based manufacturing and testing services to accelerate drug development, announced today that it has received a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Institutes of Health, by way of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), to develop a new production-oriented, high-throughput approach to gene expression analysis for cancer.
“The pace at which the genetics of cancer are being deciphered has been accelerating,” stated Dr. Joe Monforte, Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer. “The challenge is to experimentally delve deeper into how cancer genes function, as well as to determine how different compounds and compound classes influence these genes.”
“We are very excited to have received this award from the NCI. With this grant we are testing the feasibility of highly parallel processing of RNA samples in an approach that takes advantage of our strong internal expertise in real-time PCR, multiplex analysis and microarray analysis. The throughput capabilities of this approach will make gene expression-based screening and functional genomics studies involving many thousands of samples and tens to hundreds of genes more practical and cost-efficient,” stated Dr. Francois Ferre, Co-President and Co-Chief Executive Officer. “Althea’s aim is to provide a roadmap for an automated process that manages samples from cells and cell culture through data acquisition and analysis.”
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About Althea Technologies
Althea’s focus is on accelerating gene-based drug development by supporting researchers worldwide in their attempts to understand the mechanisms of disease and to develop new therapeutics. Althea’s services include gene expression analyses using its proprietary eXpress Profiling technology, custom genomic analyses using real-time PCR, cGMP plasmid DNA and protein production, and formulation and fill services. For more information, visit www.altheatech.com.
Contact:
Althea Technologies, Inc.
Alan Moore
Executive Vice President and CBO
(858) 882-0205
amoore@altheatech.com