BioCentury
ARTICLE | Emerging Company Profile

Cellular Genomics: Applied chemical genetics

January 29, 2001 8:00 AM UTC

As the number of potential drug targets increases from genome sequencing, selecting the best targets also becomes an ever-increasing challenge. Cellular Genomics Inc., as its name suggests, is using whole genome approaches in cells and animals to validate and select targets, understand disease pathways and develop screening assays. According to Louis Matis, president and CSO, the company is "integrated by its focus on identifying novel targets, rigorously validating them and developing functional drug screens."

Cellular Genomics' core expertise is in cell biology, which it has applied to target discovery, validation and assay development. Founder Ira Mellman's expertise in dendritic cells was the impetus for forming the company, whose major focus is initially on kinases, the enzymes responsible for phosphorylation-mediated signal transduction. The company uses its P-target and P-inhibitor technologies to discover what pathway a kinase acts in and what happens when it is selectively inhibited by a small molecule. ...