News and Product Launches

Dec 2 – Your Invited to a Webinar on Dec 10th : Cell-Based Receptor-Trafficking Assays Using The iQue Screener Platform

You are invited to a webinar featuring iQue® Screener user, Jonathan Jarvik, PhD., Principal Scientist from SpectraGenetics Inc.

Description:  G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), the largest family of cell surface receptors that respond to variety of external signals, are an important class of proteins that serve as targets for therapeutic development. Trafficking of GPCRs and other receptors from the plasma membrane to the cell interior and back are standard features of most signal transduction pathways.This webinar will review how researchers at SpectraGenetics were able to run a new family of cell based assays to detect and quantify GPCR trafficking events using the iQue Screener platform.Learn more about:

  • A novel GPCR internalization and trafficking assay developed by SpectraGenetics
  • How the high throughput capability of iQue Screener platform provided  the opportunity to screen a large number of compounds for their effect on GPCRs.

 

Date: December 10th 2015
Time: 08:00 am PST
11:00 am EST
04:00 pm BST
05:00 pm CET
Speaker: Dr. Jonathan Jarvik, PhD.
Institution: SpectraGenetics Inc.

 

 

 

Forward to a Colleague

 

This webinar will talk about how researchers at SpectraGenetics were able to rapidly measure the effect of agonist and antagonists on GPCR trafficking and internalization using the high throughput capability of the iQue Screener platform.

Sep 2, 2015 – SpectraGenetics joins IntelliCyt’s Technology Alliance Partner Program
IntelliCyt and SpectraGenetics partner to further the development of a new type of
internalization and trafficking assay for G-Protein Coupled Receptors (GPCR’s), an important
class of proteins for therapeutic development.
August 17, 2015 – IntelliCyt Corporation, the leading provider of innovative, high-throughput, high-content cell
and bead-based screening solutions today announced its latest TAP awardee and partner, Dr. G. Reid Asbury,
CEO of SpectraGenetics, Inc. The IntelliCyt TAP Program was created to collaborate with pioneering scientists
and commercial partners to advance the frontier of cell- and bead-based assays, and discover new therapeutic
leads through the use of our proprietary High Throughput Flow technology.
“We’re delighted to welcome SpectraGenetics as the newest member of the TAP program.” stated R. Terry
Dunlay, CEO of IntelliCyt. Dr. Asbury’s use of the IntelliCyt’s iQue® Screener instrument and ForeCyt®
software will further the development of a new type of internalization and trafficking assay for G-Protein
Coupled Receptors (GPCR’s), an important class of proteins for therapeutic development. The combination of
this assay with the IntelliCyt iQue Screener’s ability to measure 50,000 wells per day in 96-, 384- or 1536-well
microplates, will enable assessment of very large (1,000,000+) primary compound screens.
“The iQue Screener in combination with Spectragenetics’ GPCR screening reagents, is the perfect solution,
offering unrivaled data quality and throughput for this valuable class of drug targets,” Dr. Asbury stated.
Research institutions or companies interested in participating in the IntelliCyt TAP Program are invited to visit
our website www.intellicyt.com/tap for additional details on the TAP Program application process.
About IntelliCyt
IntelliCyt Corporation produces innovative tools that facilitate the study of cells, and the components of cells,
to gain a better understanding of normal and disease processes. This information is used to revolutionize the
discovery and development of new drugs and to provide new insight into the diagnosis of diseases. IntelliCyt
was the first to commercialize a true high throughput, cell-based screening platform optimized for suspension
cells and multiplex beads. IntelliCyt’s instrumentation, software, and reagent products are used worldwide
throughout pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and life science research organizations.
www.intellicyt.com Follow IntelliCyt on LinkedIn
About SpectraGenetics
SpectraGenetics is an innovative gene tagging company providing proprietary and breakthrough technologies
for drug discovery and development. SpectraGenetics’ lead products based on fluorogen activating peptide
(FAP) technology allow for high throughput, direct measurement of GPCR internalization and trafficking.
These GPCR assays are used by many leading pharmaceutical, biotechnology and life science research
institutions worldwide.
www.spectragenetics.comFeb 2, 2015 – SpectraGenetics’ crowd funding campaign is highlighted in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.

South Side researcher seeks more crowdfunding to make pets live longer

20150130bwSpectraLocal02-1 Jonathan W. Jarvik, a Carnegie Mellon University biochemist who also founded SpectraGenetics, holds a petri disc with a colony of cells used in his research to find a compound that boosts the newly discovered anti-aging protein, GDF11, to be used to reverse aging in pets.
Bill Wade/Post-Gazette


Jonathan W. Jarvik, a Carnegie Mellon University biochemist who also founded SpectraGenetics, holds a petri disc with a colony of cells used in his research to find a compound that boosts the newly discovered anti-aging protein, GDF11, to be used to reverse aging in pets.


 

As a research scientist, Jonathan W. Jarvik recently decided to do something different.

For funding, he decided to seek small donations from many rather than one large grant from the likes of the National Institutes of Health.

And while his focus is a newly discovered protein that shows promise in reversing the aging process, he set his sights on improving the health and lifespan of Mopsy and Tigger rather than John and Martha.

SpectraGenetics Inc., Mr. Jarvik’s company on the South Side, is using crowdsource fund raising, so-called “crowdfunding” to raise money to reverse aging in pets using a site atIndiegogo.com. The campaign faces a Sunday funding deadline with $2,400 collected to date. The goal is $95,000.

“I am disappointed that we have not raised more,” he said. “But I am hopeful that contributions will accelerate as more people become aware of our campaign and recognize the remarkable opportunity it represents.”

Mr. Jarvik, a Ph.D. in genetics and a Carnegie Mellon University professor, is interested in GDF11, a protein generated by a gene of the same name that’s generating excitement worldwide, including at the National Institute of Aging.

A Harvard University study last year found that transfused blood from young mice with high levels of the protein “triggered new muscle and more neural connections” in old mice, with follow-up studies revealing “that their memory formation improved,” stated the journal Science, which cited GDF11 as one of the year’s best medical discoveries.

A video explaining Mr. Jarvik’s project at Indiegogo says GDF11 “makes the muscles, minds and hearts of aging mice stronger and more youthful.” As with mice, GDF11 protein levels drop off as humans age.

Mr. Jarvik’s research at CMU involves cell receptors — protein molecules on cell membranes where such biological agents as hormones, antibodies, molecules and neurotransmitters attach themselves and alter cell function. SpectraGenetics provides biological tools for pharmaceutical companies to develop treatments that target receptors.

The pet research will use CMU technology to test thousands of off-patent drugs and other safe compounds to find GDF11 boosters, the Indiegogo video states. If one is identified, Mr. Jarvik said, they will release the findings to the public for use with pets “with no strings attached.” Such a GDF11 booster for humans would take years to develop, test for safety and effectiveness, and get approvals for market. Proving effectiveness in animals involves lower costs and fewer regulations.

“This is a fascinating project dealing with aging,” said Mr. Jarvik, the brother of Robert Jarvik, a developer of the Jarvik-7 artificial heart. “This is a special opportunity, and it would be nice if we could turn this into something real.”

Using crowdfunding in science is a relatively new concept. But Indiegogo cofounder Danae Ringelmann said scientists and researchers already have embraced it “as a powerful way to fund and publicize groundbreaking medical research, innovative medical devices and scientific research.” She notes the $98,685 raised to cure black-bone disease, $317,540 to fund human clinical trials for a stem-cell treatment for multiple sclerosis, and $355,583 donated to measure a person’s microbiome as a health indicator. In the latter case, each donor was offered a free microbiome assessment.

Indiegogo will sponsor a Lunch n’Learn workshop at 11 a.m. Friday at the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council, 810 Penn Avenue, Downtown, on crowdsource fundraising. The event is free but an RSVP is required.

Christian Manders, chief operating office of the Pittsburgh biomedical company Promethean LifeSciences Inc., is not involved with Mr. Jarvik’s project but has been watching with interest. He said SpectraGenetics officials learned about crowdfunding during a bus trip to a state biotechnical conference in October with scientists and students.

“I think what they are doing definitely is unique in my eyes because this is a sophisticated scientific company attacking a specific problem with cutting-edge research,” Mr. Manders said. “This has possibility for tremendous impact on public health and aging wellness. They can come up with a compound to help with aging animals and piggyback that compound to do the same for humans.”

David Templeton: dtempleton@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1578.

 

 

 

Dec 10, 2014 – SpectraGenetics launches an Indiegogo campaign to increase the life and health of our cats and dogs!

Please consider helping fund this important project https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/slow-or-reverse-aging-in-our-pets/x/9359219#home.

 

 

 

Sept 15, 2014 – SpectraGenetics launches new 2-Color GPCR Internalization and Trafficking Assay for DRD2, GCGR, and GPR120.

 

Spectragenetics launched ADRB2, CXCR4, OPRM1, ADORA2A and SSTR2 in March. We are working on GIPR, OPRK1, OPRD1, CGRPR (CALCRL:RAMP1), GNRHR and TACR1. These assays provide direct measurement of desensitization (internalization) and resensitization (return to surface).These all in one assays can be used to find agonist, antagonist, partial agonist, reverse agonist and resensitizers. All of the assay are homogenous and do not require imaging.  The assays provide accurate kinetics (for desensitization and resensitzation), dose, and selectivity and can be run in high throughput.

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