Proteus granted US patent for in vitro screening technology

The patent relates to Proteus'invention, which relates to research of substances capable of modifying a function corresponding to a protein or a collection of proteins implicated in a biological process.

Proteus'​ phenomics, is integrated within the company's proprietary platform with L-Shuffling for gene-shuffling based directed evolution and CLIPS-O screening assays allowing for rapid discovery, engineering and production of novel, commercially valuable genes, enzymes and other proteins to be used as therapeutic and industrial products, including synthesis routes to these products.

This type of work constitutes an empirical mode of research but particularly for forming new substances, used in numerous laboratories. Examples of applications involving these screening strategies include pharmaceutical laboratories, which set up libraries of molecules.

These laboratories research those capable of inhibiting or slowing down the activity of enzymes implicated in the development of genetic or infectious bacterial or viral diseases.

Following the intensive use of antibiotics, the appearance of new resistances is currently more rapid than that of the discovery of new antibiotics. Certain hospital laboratories therefore are looking for banks of very specific molecules, new antibiotics or new beta-lactamase inhibitors.

Research is also being carried out to find inhibitors of microorganism multiplication implicated in the biological corrosion of pipes or of containers used in industrial processes.

Daniel Dupret, CEO of Proteus said: "Proteus recognition in vitro protein expression provides a vehicle for drug discovery and protein engineering."​

"The claims in this new patent and in prior Proteus US and European patents establish Proteus in protein expression and functional proteomics."​