Reaction Biology Announces New Epigenetic Production Facilities

MALVERN, Pa., April 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Reaction Biology Corporation ("RBC"), a leading contract research organization providing drug discovery services in epigenetics, announced the opening of its new protein production facility.  The new purpose-built space is situated almost adjacent to RBC's current drug-screening facilities in the Great Valley Corporate Center in Malvern, Pennsylvania.  

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"The new facility expands our space by over 50%, and gives us the ability to greatly expand our production of epigenetic related proteins," remarked Dr. Haiching Ma, RBC Chief Technology Officer.  "We will be able to accelerate growth of our list of available targets, and add space for new collaborations."

RBC simultaneously announced that it has expanded its available list of methyltransferase and related proteins to 27, and is continuing to add more.   A number of the proteins are exclusive to RBC and cannot be found elsewhere.  RBC now offers 25 HMT/DNMT's, including all of the human members of the important MLL/SET1 family of multi-protein complexes, along with 11 HDAC's, 4 SIRT's, 7 HAT's, and 12 DUB's. 

The field of epigenetics is rapidly becoming the new focus of the drug-discovery and pharmaceutical industry.  Epigenetic targets modulate gene expression, and have been indicated in a wide variety of diseases and conditions including cancer, inflammation, metabolic and neuropsychiatric diseases. 

"The ability to selectively control gene expression is a holy grail for drug researchers.  Drugs that successfully inhibit HMT or DNMT targets could be hugely effective," said Dr. Konrad Howitz, RBC Director of Epigenetics.  "With the largest panel of such targets and proprietary high-quality proteins, we believe RBC could play a central role in this new research."

Based in Malvern, PA, RBC is a premier provider of drug screening and profiling services.  With more than 450 kinases, RBC's coverage of the kinome is the broadest in the industry.  Using its proprietary HotSpot(SM) technology and other innovations, RBC is expanding its already substantial coverage of epigenetic regulatory enzymes.  RBC has provided its services to over 250 customers worldwide, including large pharmaceutical, biotech, government, and academic labs.

For more information, visit: www.reactionbiology.com
Contact:  Haiching Ma, Chief Technology Officer, 1-610-722-0247

SOURCE Reaction Biology Corporation