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Science & Innovation
Research and Development
Our Science & Innovation activities are designed to function as an incubator for new discoveries and developments in order to complement and extend the scope of our existing businesses, and to develop new ones. Our current key Science & Innovation projects are The Avestagenome Project®, our cancer stem cell research, our natural molecules discovery effort and our work on infectious diseases.
The Science & Innovation division is an integrated biotechnology and bioinformatics product development team that seeks medical innovation through a systems biology-based approach. The activities of this division enable new product development and partnership building, designed to be an engine for new discoveries and developments in order to complement and extend the scope of our existing businesses, and to develop new businesses and technologies. Our current key science and innovation projects are:
- The Avestagenome Project® – The Avestagenome Project® is a genetic, genealogical and systems biology study designed to establish a healthcare, nutragenomic and pharmacogenomic relational database based on the Parsi community of India, further utilizing the information to develop innovative diagnostic tools to identify and classify novel therapeutic approaches to treat disease, with the ultimate goal of providing Predictive, Preventive and Personalized healthcare
- Infectious Disease – We are focusing on infectious disease drug discovery and the development of diagnostic tools beginning with Tuberculosis, based on our validation of the association of single nucleotide polymorphisms, or SNPs with virulence in Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and the detection and classification of various virulent Tuberculosis strains. These SNPs can be used in a DNA chip-based format for diagnostic purposes and for drug target identification. Using the Sequenom SNP discovery assay and high throughput DNA sequencing platforms, we aim to design and market assays for early detection of pathogen(s) before they become a serious health threat to the population.
- Infectious Disease – We are focusing on infectious disease drug discovery and the development of diagnostic tools beginning with Tuberculosis, based on our validation of the association of single nucleotide polymorphisms, or SNPs with virulence in Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and the detection and classification of various virulent Tuberculosis strains. These SNPs can be used in a DNA chip-based format for diagnostic purposes and for drug target identification. Using the Sequenom SNP discovery assay and high throughput DNA sequencing platforms, we aim to design and market assays for early detection of pathogen(s) before they become a serious health threat to the population.The natural plant extract(s) identified through ADePtTM and MetaGridTM is fractionated using a liquid chromatography (LC) – based activity-guided fractionation protocol in a medium or high throughput format. The active fraction is identified using a cell- or biochemical-based assay system and then further fractionated until a single molecular entity is obtained. The identification and characterisation of the novel molecule is obtained by mass spectrometry and confirmed by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analysis. The identified molecule can used as a starting point for in silico drug design. In this case the target receptor of the molecule is identified, and ‘docking’ studies are carried out to optimize the binding of the lead molecule (receptor-based drug design). The latter can be used in conjunction with other Chemoinformatic and Computational Chemistry capabilities at Avesthagen Limited for in silico ADME/Tox studies, among others. These compounds can then be synthesized using our expertise in chemical synthesis for further characterization/optimisation using biochemical and cell-based assays. The molecule is then evaluated for toxicity and efficacy using our platform for Preclinical studies and further validation in Clinical trials.
- Cancer Stem Cells – The goal of this project is the development of a drug treatment that would reduce the chances of cancer relapse. The hallmark property of many cancers is their ability to re-initiate tumour formation after standard radiation and chemotherapy. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) have been suspected to be responsible for this relapse of the cancer in cancer patients. To prevent the relapse of such cancers, we are striving to find a means to isolate the cancer stem cells from the tumour and to design a therapy that would specifically kill them. We are interested in targeting our available plant bioactives for small molecules, lipids, or proteins, that may negatively affect the tumourigenicity of potential CSCs. We will then seek to utilize our potential plant therapeutics to contain malignant transformation and cause a reversal to its original state or result in its killing.
Strategy
Combine state-of-the-art systems biology “omics” with advanced sequencing, data analytics, machine learning and longitudinal datasets from The Avestagenome Project® which serves as a control to other global population datasets.
Comparing and contrasting disease states and lifelong patient healthcare datasets with deep data-mining, in-vivo data from medical imaging and monitoring equipment will provide better qualified biomarkers leading to faster and more accurate identification of druggable targets, reducing the risk of costly and time-consuming drug development failures and accelerating the delivery of associated predictive diagnostic tests and drugs.
Leverage existing knowledge to power innovation – With our ADePtTM database, we have made a significant portion of the traditional medical knowledge of India and other Asian countries accessible to be utilised as a tool for the identification and development of clinically validated bioactives.
Focus on new and evolving areas – The research of cancer stem cells is a new and growing area in the broad field of cancer research. We believe that we can best leverage our scientific resources if we focus on developing areas. We are focusing on cancer stem cells with a view to develop technologies and products that can target these stem cells, rather than the fully matured cell lineages.
Technologies
We are in the process of developing a genetic, genealogical and medical database for the collection of data. The data repository will also house information from the public domain and the results from the molecular analyses. Genotyping is initially carried out in a subset of patients and controls, to identify markers of interest. These are then investigated further using more detailed mapping and extended to a larger sample size. We are in the process of developing core competencies in the following areas:
- Genomic analysis – SNP analysis resulting in genotyping of volunteers and the association of genes to diseases
- AI/ML based Big Data analytics to develop prognostic algorithms for early diagnosis of diseases like Lung cancers, other cancer sub-types and Neurodegenerative disorders
- Transcriptome profiling – Identification of differences in gene expression associated with specific diseases to identify genes potentially connected with such diseases and to identify potential biomarkers
- Proteomic analysis – Analysis of a snapshot of proteins expressed in the blood samples that may be useful as disease biomarkers
- Metabolomic profiling – Analysis of plasma from the blood samples in order to identify potential disease biomarkers
- Stem Cells – Stem cells obtained from the blood samples will be archived to determine if there is a predisposition to a particular disease
- Molecular Diagnostics
Alliances
Academic
Corporate
The Foundation for a Smoke Free World (FSFW)
Grants
Cancer risk in smoking subjects assessed by next generation sequencing profile of circulating free DNA and RNA by the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World, New York, USA.
Intellectual Property and Publications
Avesthagen is vigilant about protecting and maintaining its invention recognising that its IPR portfolio is of paramount importance for its commercialisation programmes
IP Portfolio
The Avestagenome Project® is a source of multiple patent filings relating to biomarkers for the treatment of human diseases and cancers. Sixty one inventions relating to biomarkers for the treatment of human diseases such as Tuberculosis and Breast Cancer have been filed. There are 15 patent applications pending and the company is further expected to receive granted patents in this area of research and development. Avesta Nordic Research Limited has a 110 patent applications filed in India and other jurisdictions. Avesthagen’s Biosimilar pipeline is in full compliance with the TRIPS-WTO requirement.
Research Publications
