We are pleased to announce that Chromatrap will be taking part in a new £2.6 million project led by Swansea University (UK) that’s set to dramatically improve the diagnosis and treatment of ovarian cancer.
As incidences of the disease continue to rise, particularly amongst younger women, ovarian cancer is now considered one of the deadliest forms of cancer for women. According to Cancer Research UK statistics, it’s the sixth most common cancer affecting females in the UK, with around 7,300 new cases in 2015. We’ll see the incidence of ovarian cancer in younger women continue to rise at an alarming rate of 15% between 2014 and 2035 if no suitable interventions are developed and introduced into the National Health Service.
The Cluster for Epigenomic and Antibody Drug Conjugate Therapeutics (CEAT) project aims to tackle the issue by utilising novel epigenetic drugs and ADC’s to manipulate chemical compounds, thus creating a new route for the treatment of ovarian cancer. A collaboration between 5 key industrial partners (Porvair Sciences, Bruker UK, GE Healthcare UK, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Axis Bioservices), the project will also involve a new Antibody Drug Conjugates company in its second year. Antibody Drug Conjugates (ADC’s) are a powerful new class of therapeutics in medical oncology, where antibodies that target specific cancers are coupled with cytotoxic agents.
Using Chromatrap® bead-free Chromatin Immunoprecipitation (ChIP) technology, we plan to develop new epigenomic profiling approaches that will deliver the required advances in cutting-edge drug development and patient profiling. Working with Swansea University and industrial partners, we aim to identify and characterise epigenetic drugs that are effective in preventing cancer development in ovarian cancer models. The Antibody Drug Conjugates (ADCs) resulting from the CEAT project will also be evaluated with our support.
According to Dr. Lewis Francis, CEAT principal investigator and a senior lecturer at Swansea University’s School of Medicine, “Through the CEAT project, Swansea University will work closely with CEAT partners to develop drugs that can control epigenetic signals; these epigenetic drugs can be targeted specifically towards ovarian cancer cells where epigenetic changes have occurred.”
Dr. Amy Johnson, Business and Technical Development Manager at Chromatrap, commented “We are delighted to be involved with the CEAT project. This is a great opportunity for the project to leverage our bead-free ChIP technology and expertise to be at the forefront of developing epigenetic-based cancer therapies”
Learn more about the CEAT project.
Find out how Chromatrap’s ChIP kits can help advance your epigenetics research – consult our step-by-step guide to find the right kit for you, or get in touch with our team if you have any further queries about our ChIP kits.