NetScientific PLC (LON:NSCI) has announced its portfolio company ProAxsis has been awarded a grant by Invest North Ireland to support the development of its proprietary ProteaseTag technology to identify and quantify active protease biomarkers.
The healthcare IP commercialisation group said the project will assist in the clinical validation of new therapeutics for deubiquitinases (DUBs) as part of a £150,000 project.
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The company said DUBs are thought to play significant roles in the pathogenesis of several types of cancer as well as neurodegenerative disorders, and as such are of high interest to the pharmaceutical industry.
NetScientific holds 54% of ProAxsis on a fully-diluted basis.
Francois R. Martelet, chief executive officer of NetScientific and chairman of ProAxsis, said: "The expansion of ProteaseTag technology from serine into cysteine proteases represents a strategic cornerstone for ProAxsis and substantially enlarges the addressable market down the line.”
He added: ”We thank Invest NI and congratulate ProAxsis on its continuing momentum towards becoming the leader in assays for active protease biomarker measurement."