Thermo Fisher to collaborate on biomarker discovery project
The Thermo Fisher Precision Medicine Science Center (PMSC) will collaborate with pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca and researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) to develop innovative solutions to address unmet needs in clinical biomarker discovery. The goal is to help streamline the transition from biomarker research to clinical implementation, paving the way for new opportunities in precision medicine.
Outsourcing-Pharma recently discussed the project with a Thermo Fisher Scientific spokesperson, who told us that the company has a record of working with both AstraZeneca on various projects.
“Both AstraZeneca and UNMC have access to our cutting-edge mass spectrometry technology and are actively engaging in molecular profiling of patient cohorts. We made the initial contact and realized that we can synergize our efforts through collaborative partnerships,” they explained.
Ongoing and planned studies reportedly will utilize standardized plasma protein profiling workflows, including Thermo Fisher’s newly developed ultra-high throughput plasma protein profiling (uHTPPP) workflow, for biomarker discovery, for a range of conditions. The standardized workflows consist of automated sample preparation for untargeted and targeted methods in combination with the Thermo Scientific Orbitrap Exploris 480 and Thermo Scientific Orbitrap Exploris 240 mass spectrometers.
According to the Thermo Fisher representative, collaboration among entities with different resources and knowledge is vital to advancement.
“To translate bench knowledge to the clinic, we need to develop standard protocols to prepare and analyze patient samples,” they said. “It is not enough to just generate data; iIt is essential that we generate precise and quantitative molecular signatures for individual patients and more importantly these data must lead to clinically actionable conclusions.”
“Through this collaboration, we will gain practical knowledge of working with patient samples and refine protocols through working with different diseases and human cohorts,” the spokesperson added.
Ventzi Hristova, senior scientist for dynamic omics, antibody discovery and protein engineering, R&D at AstraZeneca, said the omics field is proving to be a rich data source.
“Clinical proteomics is an emerging field aimed at improving patient care through the development of sensitive, high-throughput methods for in-depth proteomic characterization of clinical samples. This collaboration aims to evaluate and establish a model for clinical proteomics, using advanced sample processing and downstream analytical applications, that has the potential to help us identify new drug targets and biomarkers," Hristova commented.
