MRC Technology and Peptinnovate teamed up to target bone diseases using peptides derived from the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The partnership was created at Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst, a UK-based life sciences cluster.
Natural peptides from M. tuberculosis, the pathogen that causes this feared disease, are able to modify the immunological and inflammatory response in humans. The bacteria employ this natural phenomenon in order to evade the host’s immune system. Peptinnovate has other ideas in mind for this protein. These properties could, in fact, form the basis of new medicines for a variety of diseases that involve altered immune responses.
London-based Peptinnovate will entrust scientists at MRC Technology’s Centre for Therapeutics Discovery, to better understand the potential of this innovative approach. MRC Technology has got the expertise in assay development for discovering new drugs, and in bone disease biology.
The collaboration is a result of interactions fostered by Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst, where Peptinnovate is based and MRC Technology will relocate in 2016. As Martino Picardo, CEO of Stevenage’s hub, stated, this is precisely the kind of interaction the cluster was created for. Let’s hope that many more fruitful relationships will occur in this rapidly-growing campus.