PamGene participates in three major science consortia
Dutch microarray technology company PamGene has recently secured a €2m grant from SenterNovem, a Dutch government agency, for collaborative research.
Dutch microarray technology company PamGene has recently secured a €2m grant from SenterNovem, a Dutch government agency, for collaborative research.
The funding is for the development of bioinformatics and systems biology on PamGene's PamChip array platform and will be carried out in conjunction with the University of Rotterdam and the Wilhelmina Kinderziekenhuis, of Utrecht; and the VTT Technical Research Centre, Turku, Finland.
The collaboration will lead to vital progress being made in the understanding of biological pathways, thereby providing more insight into how diseases, such as cancer, originate.
PamGene has also announced its participation as a consortium member in a recently approved project under the European Union 6th Framework Programme on the investigation of mitochondrial diseases. Although these conditions are rare, mitochondrial defects are involved in cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer's and heart disease.
The joint clinical and laboratory expertise from the major European centres will address the important clinical issue of rapid and accurate molecular diagnosis for mitochondrial disease, paving the way for future treatment trials. The project will be carried out together with the University of Maastricht and Radboud University Medical Centre,of Nijmegen; Paris-based INSERM; the National Institute of Neurology, Milan, Italy; and the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne in the UK
The third consortium involves a collaboration with the Netherlands Proteomics Centre (NPC) to further develop the area of proteomics research. The NPC exists to improve the technological tools used in proteomics research and to contribute to a better understanding of disease processes. PamGene's collaboration with the NPC will bring proteomics research to a new level: functional proteomics. This will enable vital information to be gleaned on post-translational modifications and protein activities.
'The funding and the new collaborations support PamGene and our partners' firm belief that our technology has a significant role to play in fighting disease through development of more detailed knowledge of relevant biopathways,' said PamGene's ceo, Tim Kievits.