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New Consortium to Create a Peptide Pipeline
Tuesday, August 28th, 2007
By Keith Brannon
Ferrets can get the flu.
In fact, their symptoms are so much like those in people, that they're the perfect patients for a new peptide-based therapy that could stop the common virus in its tracks.
"Flu virus grows in ferrets just like it does in people," says Bob Garry, Tulane professor of microbiology and immunology. "They start sneezing and get runny noses like people."
Garry's flu study is one of several to get a boost from a $5.8 million Louisiana Board of Regents grant creating the Louisiana Peptide Translational Research Consortium.
The new consortium, spearheaded by Garry and David Coy, research professor at the Tulane University School of Medicine, will partner peptide scientists from local universities to create a network to commercialize innovations. The idea is to get researchers together on a regular basis to share study findings, resources and business connections to "move our peptides further down the development pipeline than we would be able to individually," Garry says.
"The end goal is to get products on the market," he adds. "We're bringing all this expertise together. I think it's going to create a sum that is greater than its parts."
Peptides are chains of amino acids that are biological mediators of cellular functions. They are active ingredients in everything from expensive anti-wrinkle creams to potent HIV drugs. New Orleans has long been a center for peptide research, Garry says, and the new consortium will build on that foundation.
Coy is working with peptides to dampen down the immune system to produce a better therapy for treating organ transplant patients after surgery. Current drugs pose toxicity problems. The peptide he is studying would enable doctors to use lower doses of the drugs with the same effectiveness of larger doses without risk of adverse reactions.
The group also will study peptides to treat HIV/AIDS, kill bacteria, fight cancer, stop sepsis and manage low blood pressure, among other diseases.
Researchers from Louisiana State University, Loyola University, the University of New Orleans and Xavier University will participate in the consortium. The Board of Regents funded the project as part of a larger initiative to funnel research dollars into areas affected by Hurricane Katrina.
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August 28, 2007
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