• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Affymetrix Launches Program to Advance Cancer Research

Posted on: Monday, 16 April 2007, 18:00 CDT

Affymetrix Inc. (Nasdaq:AFFX) announced today the launch of the Collaborations in Cancer Research Program, an alliance between Affymetrix and up to 30 leading European cancer researchers. As part of the program, Affymetrix will partially fund selected research projects that demonstrate clinical utility, enabling participants to develop new approaches to elucidate cancer mechanisms and to accelerate discoveries in more than 10 different forms of cancer.

The studies selected for the Collaborations in Cancer Research Program incorporate a number of different microarray-based applications, including copy number analysis, chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP), gene expression and splicing pattern analysis. In addition to helping participants obtain tools and training, Affymetrix will also provide forums where investigators can exchange knowledge and share best practices.

"The program provides an opportunity to learn from other people's experience and drive our own research forward," said Ashok Venkitaraman, M.D., Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Oncology and The Medical Research Council Cancer Cell Unit at the University of Cambridge. Dr. Venkitaraman's research utilizes ChIP to explore the roles of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, which were among the first genes to be linked to a high-penetrance risk of developing early-onset cancer. "The latest Affymetrix tiling arrays cover the entire genome at high enough resolution to enable new insights from ChIP and expression profiling experiments. The company also has a lot of in-house experience with data analysis and data collection, which is a big advantage for labs such as mine," said Dr. Venkitaraman.

Participants in the Collaborations in Cancer Research Program were selected on the basis of past contributions to their respective fields, and the potential to make significant advancements in their current research.

Michael Hummel, Ph.D., group leader at the Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin Institute of Pathology, previously used Affymetrix expression arrays to uncover a 58-gene expression signature that reliably and reproducibly distinguishes patients with Burkitt's lymphoma from those with large-B-cell lymphoma. Now, his team is using Affymetrix promoter tiling arrays to study transcription factor binding in lymphoma.

"Extremely complex assays such as ChIP-on-chip on Affymetrix tiling arrays are able to generate a reliable, reproducible and broad view on the global transcription factor binding profile," said Dr. Hummel. "This is really fascinating because the whole-genome approach provides powerful insight into gene regulation."

Many researchers in the program are exploring the cancer genome with integrated approaches made possible by the Affymetrix platform. The ability to combine information from gene expression profiling, copy number alterations, alternative splicing and gene regulation is pivotal to understanding the molecular basis of cancer.

"It's a big advantage that all of these experiments can be done on compatible platforms," said James Reid, Ph.D., a staff scientist working alongside Marco Pierotti, Ph.D., who is the scientific director of the National Institute of Tumors IRCSS Foundation in Milan. Dr. Pierotti's group is studying changes in DNA copy number and mRNA alternative splicing as they relate to mutations associated with the development of colon cancer.

Additional researchers in the Collaborations in Cancer Research Program are exploring leukemia, as well as cancers of the breast, lung, prostate, thyroid, bladder, skin and others. The results of the participating studies will be showcased to the cancer community at an Affymetrix-sponsored European cancer meeting in the second half of 2007.

Later this year, Affymetrix will expand the Collaborations in Cancer Research Program to selected groups in North America and Japan.

"Affymetrix is committed to furthering developments in science and medicine by working with leading scientists to accelerate cancer research," said Ruby Gadelrab, senior market development manager at Affymetrix and director of the program. "We are honored to partner with these world-renowned cancer researchers, and we hope that their work will facilitate potential breakthroughs by developing and demonstrating novel approaches to cancer genomics."

The following is a partial listing of researchers participating in the Collaborations in Cancer Research Program in Europe:

Name

Institute

Application(s)

Cancer Area(s)

Julian Downward and Charles Swanton

London Research Institute,Cancer Research UK

Characterization of patterns of genomic instability in breast cancer by exon-level expression and copy number analysis

Breast Cancer

Nick Lemoine

Queen Mary University of London, UK

Comprehensive genomic and molecular analysis of human pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic Cancer

Ashok Venkitaraman

Medical Research Council Cancer Cell Unit & Dept. of Oncology, University of Cambridge, UK

Functional genomics of tumor suppressor proteins that maintain chromosome stability

Breast and Ovarian Cancer

Matthias Nees and Olli Kallioniemi

VTT Technical Research Centre, Finland

Integration of gene expression and copy number analysis to understand genetic alterations in a panel of breast and prostate cancer cell lines

Breast and Prostate Cancer

Annemarie Poustka, Holger Sültmann and Ruprecht Kuner

German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Germany

Functional and transcriptome profiling of tumor progression genes in lung cancer cell lines

Lung Cancer

Marco Pierotti and James Reid

National Institute of Tumors IRCSS Foundation, Italy

Genomic and expression analysis of molecularly defined subtypes of colon cancer

Colon Cancer

Torben Orntoft

Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark

Molecular classification of bladder cancer

Bladder Cancer

Manel Esteller

Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO), Spain

Identification of determinants of epigenetic deregulation in cancer

Colon Cancer

Ian Tomlinson

London Research Institute, Cancer Research, UK

Use of genome-wide SNP and expression arrays to identify predisposition genes for cancer by copy number analysis

Colorectal Cancer

Bob Lowenberg

Erasmus University, Netherlands

Genome-wide approaches to define new genetic identities in acute myeloid leukemia

AML

Michael Hummel and Anke Ehlers

Charité-Universitätsmedizin, Germany

Transcription factor binding in lymphoma -- a promoter tiling ChIP-on-chip approach

Lymphoma

Leendert Looijenga

Erasmus University, Netherlands

Human germ cell tumors; toward understanding pathobiology and clinical behavior

Testicular Cancer

Alfredo Fusco and Enrico Avvedimento

Ceinge-Biotechnologie DBPMC, University "Federico II," Italy

Multidimensional map of estrogen-regulated genes

Thyroid Cancer

Jose A. Martínez-Climent

Center for Applied Medical Research (CIMA), The University of Navarra, Spain

Identification of NF-kB-activating genetic lesions in B-cell lymphomas through parallel SNP/RNA/exon microarray studies

Lymphoma

Angel Carracedo, Fernando Dominguez and Anxo Vidal

University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain

Genome-wide, exon-level expression analysis as a diagnostic tool in thyroid cancer

Thyroid Cancer

About Affymetrix

Affymetrix GeneChip® microarray technology is the industry-standard tool for analyzing complex genetic information. After inventing microarray technology in the late 1980s, Affymetrix scientists have been dedicated to developing innovative products that provide researchers with a more complete view of the genome. These products continue to accelerate genetic research and enable scientists to develop diagnostics and tailor treatments for individual patients by identifying and measuring the genetic information associated with complex diseases.

Today, Affymetrix technology is used by the world's top pharmaceutical, diagnostic and biotechnology companies, as well as leading academic, government and not-for-profit research institutes. More than 1,500 systems have been shipped around the world and more than 8,500 peer-reviewed papers have been published using the technology.

Affymetrix is headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif., and has manufacturing facilities in Sacramento, Calif., and Singapore. The company has about 1,100 employees worldwide and maintains sales and distribution operations across Europe and Asia. For more information about Affymetrix, please visit the company's website at www.affymetrix.com.

Forward-looking Statements

All statements in this press release that are not historical are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act as amended, including statements regarding Affymetrix' "expectations,""beliefs,""hopes,""intentions,""strategies" or the like. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially for Affymetrix from those projected, including risks and uncertainties associated with the outcome of the Collaborations in Cancer Program discussed in this press release; risks of the company's ability to achieve and sustain higher levels of revenue, higher gross margins and reduced operating expenses; uncertainties relating to technological approaches, manufacturing and product development; personnel retention; uncertainties related to cost and pricing of Affymetrix products; dependence on collaborative partners; uncertainties relating to sole-source suppliers; uncertainties relating to FDA and other regulatory approvals; competition; risks relating to intellectual property of others and the uncertainties of patent protection and litigation. These and other risk factors are discussed in Affymetrix' Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2006, and other SEC reports, including its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for subsequent quarterly periods. Affymetrix expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in Affymetrix' expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements are based.

NOTE: Affymetrix, the Affymetrix logo and GeneChip® are registered trademarks owned or used by Affymetrix Inc.

Source: Business Wire

More News in this Category