InNexus Biotechnology Inc., a biopharmaceutical company that creates and develops solutions for cancer, inflammation and other difficult-to-treat diseases, together with the University of Arizona’s Center for Applied Nanobioscience and the Scottsdale Clinical Research Institute, received a joint research program award sponsored by the Arizona Biomedical Research Commission.
The joint research program is called “A Rapid Viscosity-Based Method to Characterize Biological Fluids.” The program uses a method commonly known as the Molecular Splash Test (MST), which allows rapid and direct detection of biophysical properties of biological fluids for non-invasive diagnostics of human diseases.
The method enables probing molecular interactions within a biological fluid. The probe then quantifies proteins in whole blood or it can be used to detect abnormalities such as immunodeficiencies by examining blood or serum. The award covers a three-year period and the total funding is US$375,000. Clinical experts at Mayo Clinic Scottsdale will also collaborate to assess the clinical application in leukemia.
In this project, InNexus will provide immunoassay technology for coating the microspheres used in the MST assay with novel and specific constructs using the company’s recombinant method.
Recently, InNexus had applied its technologies to discover and develop a novel antibody product for Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) and other eye disorders and has filed for patent coverage of this product. AMD is a disease that causes significant vision loss in millions of Americans.
According to the American Macular Degeneration Foundation, there are more than 10 million people who suffer from various forms of this potentially sight-stealing disease – that is more than glaucoma and cataracts combined. As the population ages that number is expected to double to near epidemic levels by 2020.