Combio A/S has patented a new technology that, together with combinatorial chemistry, will be used to identify new compounds, which can be used by the pharmaceutical industry to develop new types of medicine.
The company has been founded by Carlsberg A/S, senior scientist Morten Meldal, MPM Holding ApS, CEO Søren Mouritsen, Jekoman ApS and Kjell Stenberg, formerly director of AstraZeneca, and they will all continue as shareholders. Carlsberg A/S is the largest, single shareholder holding more than 25 per cent of the share capital. New investors include Medicon Valley Capital, Novo A/S, Lønmodtagernes Dyrtidsfond (LD Pension) and Dansk Kapitalanlæg, who have contributed a total amount of DKK 60m to the company.
Dr. Kjell Stenberg will take up the position as new CEO at the beginning of 2001. Combio A/S expects to recruit about 20 new employees during the first couple of years. The company will move to Hørsholm Forskerpark north of Copenhagen, as soon as suitable premises become available. Until then Combio will rent premises at the Carlsberg Research Center.
The Board of Directors of Combio A/S will consist of Research Director Klaus Bock (Chairman), Carlsberg A/S, Director of Corporate Research & Development Claus Bræstrup, H. Lundbeck A/S, CEO Søren Mouritsen, M&E Biotech A/S, Director Søren Carlsen, Novo A/S, Investment Manager Helena Bøttkjær, MVC Medicon Valley Capital, and Investment Manager Arne Gillin, Dansk Kapitalanlæg.
Morten Meldal will be chairman of the company's Scientific Advisory Board. He is senior scientist at the Carlsberg Laboratory and head of the Center for Solid Phase Organic Combinatorial Chemistry (SPOCC), Professor Richard Houghten and Professor Michal Lebl, will join the Scientific Advisory Board.
Patent on tiny pellets
The development of new pharmaceuticals is very costly, particularly because of the lengthy process involved in finding new, biologically active compounds. The new biotechnology company Combio can reduce the time involved in this process considerably and discover new compounds for the pharmaceutical industry by using a patented technology developed at the Carlsberg Laboratory together with combinatorial chemistry.
Carlsberg has taken out a patent on tiny beads with a diameter of between 0.1 and 0.3 mm. They are produced from a special polymer, consisting mainly of polyethyl-englycol. The bead do not combine with most chemical compounds, are not affected by water, but are nevertheless sufficiently porous to allow penetration of enzymes.
The patent on the beads will be transferred to Combio and together with combinatorial chemistry they will be used to identify compounds that can form the basis for new pharmaceuticals. Combinatorial chemistry is not a new invention. In fact, the processes in question continuously take place in the human body and combinatorial chemistry was discovered by studying how the body's immune system works.
Today, combinatorial chemistry is for chemistry what the chip was to the IT development. Chips can store vast amounts of data and combine them very quickly. The parallel to Combio's future activities is that the patented pellets will be used to make a quick and all-encompassing identification of active combinations between thousands of compounds.
Millions of keys - only one lock
Each individual bead will have a chemical compound attached that can be "recognised" only by a definite protein or enzyme. The method can be compared with having millions of keys that need to find the one lock they fit into. In this connection the lock is a protein or an enzyme. To determine whether the key and the lock fit, a fluorescent substance has been added to the enzyme or protein. When all excess protein has been washed off the tiny beads, the bead to which the protein has attached itself will remain luminescent. Consequently, it can be isolated and the nature of the compound on the pellet can be decided. The next phase is to determine whether the compound can be used in a new pharmaceutical, e.g. to limit the impact of enzymes from vira, bacteria or parasites. However, the Combio technology is also expected to be applicable when developing pharmaceuticals for other significant types of diseases. Another possibility might be compounds that do not limit but rather stimulate the body's biological receptors - similar to the way insulin works.
Combio's activities will take place in close co-operation with the pharmaceutical companies that supply the enzymes or proteins Combio is to examine. The objective will be to find new compounds to limit or stimulate the effects of the enzymes or proteins in question. It will then be up to the pharmaceutical company to examine the effects of the new compounds. Combio will not develop the final product. That stage will be handled by the pharmaceutical industry, which is also expected to take out the patent on the application of the new pharmaceutical products. Combio may possibly patent the new compounds it might discover, and the company will receive royalty from the sales of the new drugs.
Carlsberg Laboratory has already co-operated for several years with the company Osteopro A/S on finding compounds that are able to limit the effect of enzymes causing osteoporosis, brittleness of the bones. That work will be continued by Combio.
International pharmaceutical companies have shown great interest in co-operating with Combio.
An active part of Carlsberg A/S
Carlsberg Laboratory was founded in 1876 by brewer J. C. Jacobsen, because he was convinced that high-profile research was a precondition for production and development of high-quality beer. A straight line can be traced from brewer Jacobsen's conviction to the research of international acclaim taking place at the Carlsberg Research Center today. The Center is equipped with state-of-the-art technology. More than 150 scientists and technicians work with extensive basic research as well as projects within enzyme chemistry, protein chemistry, carbohydrate chemistry, plant physiology and genetics and malt, yeast and brewing processes.
"It is the result of more than 100 years of dedication to research that Carlsberg A/S has knowledge which we might be able to convert into earnings. The biotechnology company Combio is the first ship we launch," explains President and CEO Flemming Lindeløv, Carlsberg A/S.
- "Carlsberg A/S will examine which other research achievements that may be used commercially. An example might be knowledge about yeast or plants that can be used in other products than beer and extensive knowledge about protein and carbohydrate chemistry," Flemming Lindeløv concludes.
Further information
Research Director Klaus Bock,
Carlsberg A/S +45 33 27 52 20
Margrethe Skov,
Group Public Affairs Manager
+45 33 27 14 10