ARUP Laboratories, a
national clinical and anatomic pathology reference laboratory and a leader in
innovative laboratory research and development, announced that Tanya Sandrock,
PhD, Research + Development scientist, received a prestigious NIH grant to research
additional HIV therapies. Sandrock serves as chief scientific officer of Integratech
Proteomics, a University of Utah start-up company focused on developing new
peptide and small molecule therapeutics with activity against HIV integrase,
an enzyme with an essential function in the retroviral replication cycle.
The NIH grant received by Sandrock aims to obtain a small molecule that mimics
the effects of an HIV integrase peptide inhibitor. “Forty million people
are estimated to be infected with HIV/AIDS worldwide, and 22 million people
have died since the discovery of the virus in the 1980s,” explained Sandrock.
“Drugs that inhibit reverse transcriptase, protease, and integrase are
available, but drug side effects and viral resistance have made it necessary
to develop new treatments for HIV/AIDS. The inhibitory peptide, in conjunction
with yeast two-hybrid technology, may result in the discovery of new INT inhibitory
compounds to integrase.”
Sandrock’s research aims to optimize target-peptide displacement assays;
screen chemical libraries under high throughput conditions for compounds that
disrupt peptide-HIV integrase interaction in yeast; and select the best small
molecular weight drug candidates for further optimization. ARUP will provide
Integratech Proteomics with access to a wet lab and equipment through its incubator
program, which allows research and development activities to take place on-site.
“ARUP is fully committed to maintaining its role as a training and research
laboratory of the University of Utah School of Medicine,” said ARUP Laboratories’
President and CEO Edward Ashwood, MD. “ARUP enthusiastically supports
Dr. Sandrock in her research efforts. Her persistence in pursuit of a new HIV
therapeutic has been impressive. Even though AIDS has been checked by the development
of drugs that target the virus, more drugs are needed to control the worldwide
spread of this infection.”
Integratech Proteomics benefited from a new program called Venture Bench, created
by the Technology Commercialization Office (TCO) at the University of Utah,
to assist university start-ups with infrastructure support. Danuta Petelenz,
TCO business manager, said: “This is exactly the type of company the university
is interested in assisting and starting, one that provides the possibility of
a life-changing solution for a deadly disease and complements the strengths
of the life-science capabilities at the University of Utah.”
Integratech Proteomics will consider peptide therapy in addition to the small
molecule approach. Sandrock will examine novel nano-technology for drug delivery
and will continue collaborating with the National Institutes of Health, ARUP
Laboratories, and the University of Utah to expand knowledge of HIV biology.
Posted September 9th, 2009
