Allozyne
Encyclopedia
Allozyne is a clinical stage biotechnology
company headquartered in Seattle’s biotech and high tech innovation corridor. Its lead product AZ01 is a long acting interferon beta for the treatment of the relapsing remitting form of multiple sclerosis
, a chronic degenerative disease characterized by demyelination of nerve fibers leading to severe nerve damage and increasing disability. Multiple sclerosis is estimated to affect 400,000 individuals in the US alone and 2.5 million worldwide. AZ01 is currently undergoing Phase I clinical trials in the US. Preclinical data indicates that AZ01 has the potential to be dosed once monthly compared to the current standard of care dosed anywhere from once daily to once per week.
Allozyne was founded in 2005 by Caltech researchers and was incubated by Accelerator Corporation.
and autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis and Crohn’s disease. Their two platforms, Caesar and Vigenère, enable the creation of novel therapeutics that address unmet medical need associated with these diseases.
The names of the two platforms were inspired by the two encryption
techniques used prior to, and during, World War II
known as the Caesar cipher
and Vigenère cipher
. These platforms, like historical ciphering technologies, involve changes to the way messages are interpreted. These changes include modifications to the cellular machinery of both E. coli and mammalian cells so that the information encrypted in their DNA
can introduce a variety of protein building blocks beyond the 20 that are found in all proteins throughout nature. This process of biological encryption has come to be known as “biociphering”. Additional available building blocks enable the creation more advanced protein therapeutics. The ability to customize the intrinsic properties and location of the 21st amino acid
, allows for a variety of bioconjugation
chemistries to be directed to any specific location within the protein. These biociphering platforms have opened the door to new protein therapeutic configurations including antibody-toxin, antibody-antibody, long acting as well as others. Application of these platforms to the development of protein based therapeutics enable therapeutics that address areas of unmet medical need. The first application of this technology was used to incorporate a variety of methionine analogs into human recombinant interferon beta. One azide
containing methionine
analog was selected for its compatibility with a bioconjugation
chemistry developed by Nobel Laureate, K. Barry Sharpless
of The Scripps Research Institute
, known as “Click chemistry
This chemistry enabled the engineering of a long acting form of human interferon beta by conjugation to a half life extending moiety known as polyethylene glycol
(PEG). Results were presented at the 2007 national ACS meeting. On July 15, 2010, ALLOZYNE announced the signing of an exclusive license agreement with The Scripps Research Institute for Click chemistry.
Biotechnology
Biotechnology is a field of applied biology that involves the use of living organisms and bioprocesses in engineering, technology, medicine and other fields requiring bioproducts. Biotechnology also utilizes these products for manufacturing purpose...
company headquartered in Seattle’s biotech and high tech innovation corridor. Its lead product AZ01 is a long acting interferon beta for the treatment of the relapsing remitting form of multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory disease in which the fatty myelin sheaths around the axons of the brain and spinal cord are damaged, leading to demyelination and scarring as well as a broad spectrum of signs and symptoms...
, a chronic degenerative disease characterized by demyelination of nerve fibers leading to severe nerve damage and increasing disability. Multiple sclerosis is estimated to affect 400,000 individuals in the US alone and 2.5 million worldwide. AZ01 is currently undergoing Phase I clinical trials in the US. Preclinical data indicates that AZ01 has the potential to be dosed once monthly compared to the current standard of care dosed anywhere from once daily to once per week.
Allozyne was founded in 2005 by Caltech researchers and was incubated by Accelerator Corporation.
Platform & Therapeutic Focus
Allozyne has a therapeutic focus on chronic central nervous systemCentral nervous system
The central nervous system is the part of the nervous system that integrates the information that it receives from, and coordinates the activity of, all parts of the bodies of bilaterian animals—that is, all multicellular animals except sponges and radially symmetric animals such as jellyfish...
and autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis and Crohn’s disease. Their two platforms, Caesar and Vigenère, enable the creation of novel therapeutics that address unmet medical need associated with these diseases.
The names of the two platforms were inspired by the two encryption
Encryption
In cryptography, encryption is the process of transforming information using an algorithm to make it unreadable to anyone except those possessing special knowledge, usually referred to as a key. The result of the process is encrypted information...
techniques used prior to, and during, World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
known as the Caesar cipher
Caesar cipher
In cryptography, a Caesar cipher, also known as a Caesar's cipher, the shift cipher, Caesar's code or Caesar shift, is one of the simplest and most widely known encryption techniques. It is a type of substitution cipher in which each letter in the plaintext is replaced by a letter some fixed number...
and Vigenère cipher
Vigenère cipher
The Vigenère cipher is a method of encrypting alphabetic text by using a series of different Caesar ciphers based on the letters of a keyword. It is a simple form of polyalphabetic substitution....
. These platforms, like historical ciphering technologies, involve changes to the way messages are interpreted. These changes include modifications to the cellular machinery of both E. coli and mammalian cells so that the information encrypted in their DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
can introduce a variety of protein building blocks beyond the 20 that are found in all proteins throughout nature. This process of biological encryption has come to be known as “biociphering”. Additional available building blocks enable the creation more advanced protein therapeutics. The ability to customize the intrinsic properties and location of the 21st amino acid
Amino acid
Amino acids are molecules containing an amine group, a carboxylic acid group and a side-chain that varies between different amino acids. The key elements of an amino acid are carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen...
, allows for a variety of bioconjugation
Bioconjugation
Bioconjugation is the process of coupling two biomolecules together in a covalent linkage. Common types of bioconjugation chemistry are amine coupling of lysine amino acid residues , sulfhydryl coupling of cysteine residues , and photochemically initiated free radical reactions, which have broader...
chemistries to be directed to any specific location within the protein. These biociphering platforms have opened the door to new protein therapeutic configurations including antibody-toxin, antibody-antibody, long acting as well as others. Application of these platforms to the development of protein based therapeutics enable therapeutics that address areas of unmet medical need. The first application of this technology was used to incorporate a variety of methionine analogs into human recombinant interferon beta. One azide
Azide
Azide is the anion with the formula N3−. It is the conjugate base of hydrazoic acid. N3− is a linear anion that is isoelectronic with CO2 and N2O. Per valence bond theory, azide can be described by several resonance structures, an important one being N−=N+=N−...
containing methionine
Methionine
Methionine is an α-amino acid with the chemical formula HO2CCHCH2CH2SCH3. This essential amino acid is classified as nonpolar. This amino-acid is coded by the codon AUG, also known as the initiation codon, since it indicates mRNA's coding region where translation into protein...
analog was selected for its compatibility with a bioconjugation
Bioconjugation
Bioconjugation is the process of coupling two biomolecules together in a covalent linkage. Common types of bioconjugation chemistry are amine coupling of lysine amino acid residues , sulfhydryl coupling of cysteine residues , and photochemically initiated free radical reactions, which have broader...
chemistry developed by Nobel Laureate, K. Barry Sharpless
K. Barry Sharpless
Karl Barry Sharpless is an American chemist known for his work on stereoselective reactions.-Early years:Sharpless was born in Philadelphia. He graduated from Friends' Central School in 1959. He continued his studies at Dartmouth College and earned his Ph.D from Stanford University in 1968...
of The Scripps Research Institute
The Scripps Research Institute
The Scripps Research Institute is an American medical research facility that focuses on research in the basic biomedical sciences. Headquartered in La Jolla, California, with a sister facility in Jupiter, Florida, the institute is home to 3,000 scientists, technicians, graduate students, and...
, known as “Click chemistry
Click chemistry
Click chemistry is a chemical philosophy introduced by K. Barry Sharpless of The Scripps Research Institute, in 2001 and describes chemistry tailored to generate substances quickly and reliably by joining small units together...
This chemistry enabled the engineering of a long acting form of human interferon beta by conjugation to a half life extending moiety known as polyethylene glycol
Polyethylene glycol
Polyethylene glycol is a polyether compound with many applications from industrial manufacturing to medicine. It has also been known as polyethylene oxide or polyoxyethylene , depending on its molecular weight, and under the tradename Carbowax.-Available forms:PEG, PEO, or POE refers to an...
(PEG). Results were presented at the 2007 national ACS meeting. On July 15, 2010, ALLOZYNE announced the signing of an exclusive license agreement with The Scripps Research Institute for Click chemistry.