Ariadne, Cellecta and Roswell Park Cancer Institute to Collaborate on Prostate-Specific Pathway Models
ROCKVILLE, MD - August 16, 2010 - Ariadne, a leader in bioinformatics software and knowledge integration announces a joint collaboration with Cellecta and Roswell Park Cancer Institute to develop a comprehensive knowledgebase of prostate-specific pathway models. The project, partially sponsored by an NCI SBIR Phase 1 grant, uses Cellecta’s siRNA library screening system for a panel of prostate cancer cell lines to identify genes essential for viability of cancer cells. Ariadne will use the data from the siRNA screens and available OMICS data to identify pathways involved and build mechanistic models in support of the genes identified from the siRNA targets in the screen. Roswell Park contributes its expertise in prostate cancer biology and clinical applications.
“The anticipated result of this collaboration is a better understanding of the mechanism of prostate cancer that result in novel targets and biomarkers”, says Ilya Mazo, CEO of Ariadne. “By leveraging our technical expertise and background in computational biology and disease models, we can continue to provide support in collaboration partnerships with researchers, resulting in new knowledgebases for the drug discovery industry.”
Andrei Gudkov, Ph.D., Sr. Vice President for Basic Science of Roswell Park Cancer Institute adds, “DECIPHER technology, Cellecta’s functional genomics platform, is the best among available shRNA screening techniques and greatly facilitated our ability to identify and validate potential drug targets. Prostate cancer is one of the strongest branches of our research programs at Roswell and we expect significant benefits from this collaboration. We anticipate rapid progression into drug discovery and other clinically relevant directions”.
Alex Chenchik, Ph.D., President and CEO of Cellecta, Inc. commented that "we at Cellecta, as well as our collaborators, are very pleased with the performance of our pooled lentiviral shRNA libraries. We are privileged to collaborate with Ariadne and Roswell Park Cancer Institute to use our technology in creation of such a valuable resource for the scientific community."
For more information about Pathway Studio and Ariadne, visit the Ariadne website at www.ariadnegenomics.com, or call 240-453-6296, or email us at info@ariadnegenomics.com.
For more information about Cellecta, visit the Cellecta website at www.cellecta.com, or call 1-877-938-3910, or email us at info@cellecta.com.
For more information, visit the Roswell Park Cancer Institute website at www.roswellpark.org, call 1-877-ASK-RPCI (1-877-275-7724) or email askrpci@roswellpark.org.
About Ariadne
Ariadne, a leader in research data products and software solutions that enable knowledge enrichment, help pharmaceutical and life science researchers tap known scientific knowledge for applications from discovery and development to translational medicine. We provide a portfolio of solutions for life science, drug discovery and development applications including custom data products, knowledge extraction and visualization software, knowledge reports, and informatics staffing.
Pathway Studio, built and powered by MedScan® technology, is integrated data mining and visualization software that allows organizations and researchers to rapidly extract relevant facts and relationships from large document collections (text-mining), build focused knowledgebases (databases), while supporting the integration of OMICS experiments. The extracted knowledge is used in an interactive scaffold for defining and testing in silico-based hypotheses across a wide range of disciplines including mechanistic modeling of disease, drug action and toxicity, as well as biomarker discovery, cellular and network pathway building, protein-protein interactions and many more.
Pathway Studio is available in desktop and enterprise versions along with therapeutic-focused knowledgebases and cartridges.
About Cellecta, Inc.
Cellecta was founded in April of 2006 with a mission to develop the most advanced high-throughput (HT) RNAi and peptide screen technologies and their applications for the discovery and functional characterization of novel therapeutic targets and drugs. The privately owned contract research service company is headed by an experienced management and product development team with a good product development track record, a network of outside scientific collaborators, and prior experience in start-up company operations. The team's six years of experience performing HT RNAi screens with pooled lentiviral shRNA libraries designed for HT sequencing, HT screening for bioactive peptides, HT functional validation of shRNA, stable cell line development, and HT insertional mutagenesis has resulted in some of the most advanced technologies available, developed in collaboration with opinion leaders and with funding from nine NIH SBIR grants.
About Roswell Park Cancer Institute
The mission of Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) is to understand, prevent and cure cancer. RPCI, founded in 1898, was one of the first cancer centers in the country to be named a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center and remains the only facility with this designation in Upstate New York. The Institute is a member of the prestigious National Comprehensive Cancer Network, an alliance of the nation's leading cancer centers; maintains affiliate sites; and is a partner in national and international collaborative programs.
