Park News
15 June 2007
CellCentric signs IP agreement with Massachusetts General Hospital
New agreement expands CellCentric’s epigenetic discovery base to include ties with the leading laboratory of Dr. Bob Kingston
CAMBRIDGE, UK
CellCentric, the biotechnology company unlocking epigenetic control mechanisms, has increased further its network of intellectual property (IP) arrangements with world-leading scientists. The new agreement with Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) concerns discoveries coming from the laboratory of Bob Kingston, PhD. His laboratory is interested in understanding the fundamental mechanisms of how enzymes can modify chromatin. CellCentric translates such discoveries into therapeutic product opportunities for degenerative diseases and cancer.
Dr. Kingston is the chief of the Department of Molecular Biology at the MGH. Before coming to the hospital, he earned his PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, and completed his postdoctoral work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Kingston became a full professor at Harvard Medical School in 1995.
Founded in 1811, MGH is the third oldest general hospital in the United States. It is the oldest and largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School and it conducts the largest hospital-based research programmes in the US.
Epigenetics is transforming how researchers, clinicians and pharmaceutical companies think about tackling intractable diseases. Since the sequencing of the human genome, it has become increasingly apparent that the way in which genes are controlled is as important as gene sequences themselves.
CellCentric, by building a unique hub and spoke discovery network of leaders in epigenetics, is uniquely placed to assimilate new epigenetic information, synergise it and prioritise it. The company goes on to carry out product opportunity validation and early drug candidate identification.
Frances Toneguzzo, Director, Corporate Sponsored Research & Licensing at the MGH, commented: “Our focus is on creating relationships that help move exciting technology from the laboratories of the Massachusetts General Hospital to the point where it can eventually be used to help patients. We are pleased to be working with a company that brings a new approach to identifying and commercializing discoveries in the promising field of epigenetics.”
Dr. Kingston said, “We have learned that epigenetic processes and chromatin modifications influence the fundamental biology of many disease states. My research team and I are encouraged by the possibilities offered by this nascent field, and we are excited about the opportunity to take this knowledge further down the pathway toward its full therapeutic potential.”