Probiodrug: INGENOtyping business sold to Helmholtz Zentrum München

Sale agreed

Probiodrug, a spin-out from the Leibniz Society’s Hans-Knöll-Institut für Wirkstoffforschung in Jena, has sold its proprietary INGENOtyping technology platform to the German Research Centre for Environmental Health, Helmholtz Zentrum München. The technology is a high-speed method for producing genetically modified mouse models using chemical mutagenesis procedures. The financial aspects of the transaction have not been disclosed.

Research at Probiodrug focuses on developing inhibitors for the treatment of inflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases. It has developed patents of its DP4 inhibitor technology for the treatment of type-2 diabetes. The company has reinvested the funds made from commercialisation of this product into the development of a new therapy for Alzheimer’s disease using INGENOtyping technology.

Hendrik Liebers, of Probiodrug, said:  “The INGENOtyping technology enables the creation of a huge variety of genetic alterations, including classical knockout mouse models with unprecedented speed and dependability. However, the full exploitation of the broad applicability of this technology is outside of our focus. Therefore we decided to sell our INGENOtyping business and we are happy that we have found a very competent partner who will make the most of our comprehensive mutagenised DNA and sperm library.”

A spokesman for Helmholtz Zentrum München stated: “We see the acquisition of the mouse models as a substantial expansion of our technology base. In our German Mouse Clinic at Helmholtz Zentrum München we are already performing the large scale standardised and comprehensive phenotypic analysis of mouse mutants from various sources, and the INGENOtyping business is ideally complementing our activities in this area as well as our comprehensive projects in mutagenesis.”