The human genome is composed of ~20,000 genes. These genes are transcribed into RNA and then translated into proteins, which can then perform biological functions in the body. Knowledge of the genome alone is not always enough as there are many more proteins than there are genes. The exact number of proteins is debated among scientists, however estimations go up to several million.
The discrepancy between the number of genes and proteins is because a single gene can produce multiple variants of a protein. In addition to this, proteins can undergo post translational modifications. Looking at the genome alone can therefore result in the identification of drug targets that are never actually expressed as the anticipated protein in the cell.
Knowledge of the proteome in combination with the genome and transcriptome can enhance drug development by ensuring that the target protein is present in diseased tissue and not in healthy tissue, allowing for safer and more effective drug development. However, to date the complexity of the proteome has limited development in this field.
Promatix is solving this problem by identifying and validating novel drug targets at a protein level using TxPro: Our proprietary proteomic database that is supplemented with genomic and transcriptomic data.
TxPro can be used to:
We are building a strong pipeline of therapeutics that will have the potential to transform the way that we treat diseases.
