wide screen12 February 2007 With its first drugs entering clinical trials, DanioLabs is making the transition from small fry to big fish. |
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Two compounds developed by DanioLabs Ltd, a spin-out from the University of Cambridge and the University of California, San Francisco, have entered clinical trials for the treatment of Parkinson's disease symptoms.
The company uses in vivo assays in zebrafish to look for new clinical uses of either established drugs or those that dropped out of the research and development pipeline, alone or in combination.
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DanioLabs has pioneered the use of zebrafish in compound screening. The fish are vertebrates that model human systems closely; they have transparent embryos, it is possible to work with single cells, and the genome is easy to manipulate and is currently being sequenced.
The company, which developed with Wellcome Trust Technology Transfer funding, focuses on treatments for ophthalmic and neurological disorders. The company operates an in-house drug discovery process that re-screens existing drugs and also offers screening services to pharmaceutical companies.
DanioLabs has continued to grow since its launch in 2002 – attracting £3.2 million in venture capitalist funding in 2005. Currently, two compounds (novel combinations of established drugs) are undergoing phase I trials for the treatment of drooling and excessive sweating in Parkinson's disease. There is also a further compound under investigation for seborrhoea (excessive sebum secretion), an additional feature of Parkinson's disease but also a pathogenic factor in acne and the skin condition seborrhoeic dermatitis.
The company is also researching treatments for several other conditions, with compound screens currently underway for epilepsy, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis.