MelTec Forms Alliance with Fraunhofer Institute FIT

Next-Generation IT Platform for Topological Proteomics to be Created

MelTec GmbH and the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technology FIT today signed a collaboration agreement to develop an information technology platform for the management and interpretation of high-throughput experiments analysing protein networks of whole cells in situ, also known as topological proteomics or toponomics. MelTec continuously generates large data sets to decipher the toponome of cells and tissues by tracing out and interpreting the context of proteins in cells.

Under this agreement, FIT and MelTec will develop new software-based approaches to analyse and visualise protein networks, and then correlate that data with results from in-vitro and in-vivo experiments. Using MelTec’s robotic toponomics imaging technology in combination with FIT’s image management and proteomics software, they will create a bioinformatics platform for the systematic interpretation of these vast protein networks. The system will rapidly produce high quality results for understanding how proteins impact a drug’s effectiveness.

“Our Topological Proteomics technologies combine cell biology and bio-mathematical tools to visualize 3-Dimensional protein-networks at the cellular and subcellular level,” said Walter Schubert, M.D., Founder and Chief Executive Officer of MelTec. “This new system has the potential to become a key technology that paves the way for a more systematic approach to understanding disease pathology and treatment, by looking at how protein networks in cells determine cellular function. The alliance with FIT will accelerate our discovery program.”

“Large-scale image-based experiments require advanced information management approaches that combine storage, processing and interactive exploration capabilities,” said Prof. Dr. Thomas Berlage, Institute Director at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technology FIT. “Our alliance will allow us to create an integrated environment that enables biologists to quickly identify and validate functional aspects of living cells.”

About MelTec
MelTec GmbH is a privately held biotechnology company specializing in using topological proteomics to identify mechanisms underlying disease pathology, drug targets and to prioritize lead compounds focused on immune-mediated disease, neurological disorders, cancer, and arteriosclerosis. MelTec’s proprietary robotic imaging technology, MELK (Multi-Epitope-Ligand-Kartographie), performs completely automated proteomic characterization of single cells, for hundreds of proteins simultaneously, thus identifying the proteomic fingerprint, or the topology, of individual cells, such as lymphocytes. Using its technology, MelTec believes that it can greatly accelerate pre-clinical research in the drug development process, and has already identified new targets and lead compounds in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, Lou Gehrig’s Disease) and cancer.

About Fraunhofer FIT
The Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technology FIT is one of the 56 institutes of the Fraunhofer Society in Germany. FIT investigates user-oriented information and cooperation systems, focusing on the interaction of actual work practices, organizational structure and processes, in close cooperation with its clients from industry and public administration. One major application area is life science, where diagnostic and therapeutic approaches are increasingly relying on image-based technologies and integrated computerized approaches. FIT is pursuing research on novel software systems that address the anatomical, physiological and molecular levels of life.