Ontario firm invests $277,000 in new U of S Biosensor Technology

Posted May 31, 2000


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ? Thursday, May 25, 2000 2000-05-21-OTHER

Ontario Firm Invests $277,000 in New U of S
Biosensor Technology

University of Saskatchewan scientists will receive $277,000 over two years
from a Toronto-based company to develop and commercialize a new biosensor
technology that could provide a new tool for genetic testing.

A three-party agreement launching the MEDNAPLEX project was signed May 23 by
U of S scientists Jeremy Lee and Heinz-Bernhard Kraatz, the U of S
technology transfer company UST Inc., and Toronto-based University Medical
Discoveries Inc. (UMDI), a technology development company focusing on
early-stage medical and life sciences research.

"Potentially this research could lead to a new screening tool for doctors to
pick up abnormalities in the DNA of blood samples from patients," said
Branko Peterman, president of University of Saskatchewan Technologies Inc.
which negotiated the deal.

"This new DNA probe might then be used to screen patients for genetic
diseases or to test for sensitivities to certain drugs. This whole area of
pharmacogenomics is where health care is headed in the next 10 to 15 years."


If the research goes as planned, it?s expected that a company will be spun
off in a year or two that will capitalize on the lucrative market for new
biosensors.

"For UMDI, this project represents an opportunity to become involved in the
early development of cutting-edge nanotechnology that is a potential
solution to the problem of finding highly sensitive DNA detectors," said
UMDI investment Analyst Nick Glover.

"There are other DNA probes but this one is potentially far more sensitive
than other detection systems, and it?s also cheap and reusable. The value of
an enabling technology in this sector is likely to be significant."

The new biosensor would be based on a new type of DNA molecule that can
conduct electricity called M-DNA. A U of S research team led by Prof. Lee is
the first in the world to create M-DNA.

Conducting metal ions such as zinc, cobalt or nickel are inserted into the
centre of the DNA helix to create a "molecular wire" that is only one
molecule thick. This discovery was recently published in the Journal of
Molecular Biology and is currently in the patent process.

M-DNA might also be used to screen for new anti-tumor drugs. Many anti-tumor
drugs work by binding to DNA. M-DNA could be an excellent way to detect
potential anti-cancer drugs because anything that binds to DNA will block
M-DNA?s electrical current.

There?s also the possibility M-DNA could also be used as the building block
for nanometer-scale bioelectric circuits (one billionth of a meter) that
mimic current electric circuitry. Potentially, these bioelectronic circuits
could even replace the smallest of silicon microchips that drive the world?s
information technology.

Lee, a biochemist, says the beauty of this discovery is not only the
relative ease with which the wire can be made, but also that it assembles
itself. This is a natural property of DNA which is also present in M-DNA.

Kraatz, an assistant professor in the chemistry department, has the
synthetic expertise to attach electrochemical sensor molecules to M-DNA and
the electrochemical expertise from his work with other biosensors to read
the signals that emanate from the M-DNA.

MEDNAPLEX is the first UMDI-funded project in Saskatchewan.

UMDI, a seed-stage venture capital firm, provides the capital required to
take a promising biomedical innovation to the point where the optimal
commercialization strategy can be determined and implemented. This may be by
forming a company or by licensing the technology.

UMDI applies judicious selection criteria to its investments, including the
potential size of the market, the credibility and efforts of the principal
investigators, the uniqueness of the discovery, and the intellectual
property position. UMDI has reviewed several hundred investment proposals
and has made 28 investments to date, many of which have progressed into
legitimate leading-edge biotechnology companies.

For further information:
Kathryn Warden
Research Communications Officer
Office of the Vice-President Research
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-2506
http://www.usask.ca/research

Dr. Nick Glover
Investment Analyst
University Medical Discoveries Inc.
100 International Blvd.
Toronto, Ontario M9W 6J6
Phone: (416) 213-4162
Fax: (416) 213-4232
E-mail: nglover@umdi.net
Web: http://www.umdi.net