NIH Funds Discovery Of New Influenza Inhibitors By Integral Molecular, Inc.

Main Category: Flu / Cold / SARS
Also Included In: Biology / Biochemistry
Article Date: 04 Sep 2008 - 3:00 PDT

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Integral Molecular, Inc. initiates a federally-funded program to discover new drugs to combat influenza infection. Sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Integral Molecular's R&D program will utilize its proprietary Lipoparticle technology to discover new ways of inhibiting M2, a critical viral ion channel. The M2 ion channel is a validated drug target for all strains of influenza, including the most dangerous H5N1 pandemic strains. Each year, influenza is responsible for 3 to 5 million cases of severe illness and up to 500,000 deaths.

Dr. Benjamin Doranz, President and Chief Scientific Officer of Integral Molecular, explains, "Lipoparticles have been well-validated for studying cell surface proteins such as GPCRs and ion channels. We are very excited to now have this opportunity to use the technology for discovering new drugs against this important virus." This federal grant continues a previous R01 funding award by the NIH to develop Lipoparticle technology for use with viral ion channels.

Integral Molecular's Lipoparticles enable ion channels such as M2, and other membrane proteins, to be selectively captured and concentrated. Integral Molecular currently offers Lipoparticles engineered to contain user-specified membrane proteins for a variety of applications including high throughput screening, binding assays, and biosensor assays.

About Integral Molecular

Integral Molecular is a biotechnology company that provides innovative solutions for research and drug discovery applications involving integral membrane proteins. Integral Molecular is a privately-owned company founded in 2001 and located at the University City Science Center research park in central Philadelphia. The company has been working with pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and academic customers and collaborators since its inception, providing membrane protein-related products and services that advance its customers' scientific objectives. Integral Molecular has ongoing internal programs in the fields of infectious and inflammatory disease.

Integral Molecular