Cisbio Bioassays Launches Epigenetics Toolbox

Cisbio Bioassays, a global developer of products, technologies and services used for assay development and drug screening and for in vitro diagnostics, has announced the launch of its epigenetics toolbox for use in drug discovery research. Epigenetics is a crucial field of study for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries due to its large range of applications related to human health. This epigenetics toolbox, which offers a robust and reliable resource for such studies and is based on HTRF® technology, was introduced today in Europe at MipTec 2012 in Basel, Switzerland and will be released on October 1st in the United States at Discovery on Target 2012 in Boston, Massachusetts.

Cisbio Bioassays’ epigenetics toolbox is a selection of conjugates specifically developed by the company for epigenetics studies, in response to requests from pharmaceutical and biotechnology researchers for reagents that would help better understand how these events occur through epigenetic mechanisms and how they relate to multiple therapeutic areas and diseases such as metabolic, CNS and immune system disorders. The toolbox works in combination with Cisbio Bioassays’ other HTRF-based reagents to provide a single, robust and easy-to-use technology for studying classes such as histone methylation and histone demethylation.

“Protein:protein interactions and modifications have long been front and center in drug discovery research and now epigenetics target classes have become highly sought after by researchers because of their broad span of applications,” said François Degorce, head of marketing and communications at Cisbio Bioassays. “Epigenetics has become one of Cisbio Bioassays’ core research programs in response to the high demand from clients for more specific study tools, like HTRF, that can be applied to this field. To meet this need, we will regularly implement new assays that allow for studying relevant enzymes and the way in which they function. In fact, our development of this first set of reagents parallels our global commitment to introducing novel tools to our growing catalogue, much as we have been doing with our kinase screening platform throughout the year.”

As part of the development of its kinase screening platform, Cisbio Bioassays has also launched two HTRF cellular kinase assays, Phospho-MEK1 and Phospho-MEK1/2. These assays, designed for detecting and studying activated MEK when phosphorylated at Ser218 and 222 directly in whole cells, can be used for the investigation of the MAP kinase pathway and therefore the screening of potential anti-cancer therapeutic compounds. Cisbio’s kinase screening platform now comprises 11 assays – Phospho-CREB (Ser133), Phospho-mTOR (Ser2448) and Phospho-EGFR were introduced in June 2012 – and additional kits are planned in the upcoming months. All assays feature the benefits of HTRF technology: streamlined protocols, miniaturization and application to any phase of drug screening.