FivePrime's Time
A paper published in Science has identified the previously unknown protein IL-34 as being involved in monocyte proliferation.1 Besides opening new doors for autoimmune disease and cancer research, the finding provides proof of concept for the secreted protein discovery platform of Five Prime Therapeutics Inc.,a company that has been running quietly since raising $45 million to fund preclinical research in 2005.
Five Prime was founded with the goal of industrializing secreted protein discovery and development. Its technological platform includes a library of secreted proteins and extracellular domains of transmembrane proteins, and assays that measure the metabolic, growth and transcriptional responses of each protein. Analysis of the assay data allows the company to select proteins with specificity for desired assays and thus for desired properties...