Case Western inks technology licensing deal with bioinformatics spinoff

A bioinformatics spinoff company from Case Western Reserve University has reached an exclusive option agreement to license technology from the university.

The company, NeoProteomics, was co-founded by Mark Chance, director of Case Center for Proteomics and Bioinformatics. NeoProteomics focuses on the identification and validation of biomarkers, proteins in the blood that can indicate the presence of a certain disease, according to a statement from Case.

Pharmaceutical companies can use the biomarkers that NeoProteomics develops for research and analysis that can help speed up drug development.

The company hopes to use its biomarkers to enhance treatments for a range of conditions, including cancer, diabetes and inflammatory diseases. The new license option covers various tools and biomarkers that will expand the company’s portfolio, according to the statement.

In a 2009 interview, Chance said he viewed himself as the bridge between the lab and NeoProteomics’ business. “The hard part has been picking the right [biomarkers] that look like they might have commercial potential,” Chance said. “A lot of the projects we do have tremendous basic science potential … but most of them are too far away from commercialization.”

NeoProteomics has already begun selling software it licensed from Case. The data analysis software, called ProtMapMS, has been licensed to major pharmaceutical companies and research universities.

In 2009, NeoProteomics received a $25,000 grant from the Innovation Fund of the Lorain County Community College Foundation.