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Trana Discovery HIV Video | Produced by LemonStripe | Work for this project was performed under the DAIDS, NIAID contract N01-AI-70042; Roger Miller, Project Officer.

CARY, NC (June 27, 2011) – Trana Discovery, Inc., a drug discovery technology company, today announced the availability of a new High-Throughput Screening (HTS) assay capable of selectively identifying compounds that inhibit the reproduction of Staphylococcus aureus bacteria through a unique mechanism of action: the inhibition of the bacteria’s ability to use a specific transfer RNA (tRNA) in protein synthesis. The assay opens the door for the discovery and development of critically-needed treatments of Staphylococcus aureus infections.

The need for new effective antibiotics to treat infections caused by S. aureus bacteria, including virulent strains such as Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), has never been more evident. Unfortunately, only a limited number of truly novel antibiotic classes have been discovered and developed during the past 30 years. The vast majority of new antibiotics were merely structurally modified derivatives of existing chemical scaffolds, each of which still worked by the respective parent compound legacy mechanism of action and whose avoidance of resistance mechanisms by target pathogens was usually short-lived. Accordingly, the real solution for discovery and development of highly active and durable antibiotics targeted against these resistant bacteria is to exploit novel targets and novel chemical structures that interact with them.

The Trana Staphylococcus aureus 201 High-Throughput (HTS) Assay identifies compounds that inhibit the essential use of a non-human S. aureus tRNA^Arg that is required for protein synthesis. The assay identifies compounds that interfere with the interaction of an oligonucleotide mimic of the ASL loop of tRNA^Arg with a programmed ribosome.

During validation runs, the assay was used to screen a 60,000 compound library from which 283 compounds were initially identified. These compounds were retested in a dose response curve and 89 compounds were confirmed as biochemically active. Thirty-eight of these compounds were selected based on an acceptable IC50 concentration and tested in a bacterial assay where eight compounds demonstrated activity against two or more strains of S. aureus. The assay is now fully HTS functional and is immediately available for licensing.

“Staph aureus is a major public health concern. A unique target appears to be a logical approach to overcoming resistance in these clinically important pathogens,” said Steve Peterson, CEO of Trana Discovery. “Trana Discovery technology and intellectual property offers the opportunity for exclusive licensing of this Staph aureus assay and, in turn, full ownership of new classes of anti-infectives discovered through its application.”

Development and commercialization of the assay was made possible by a small business research loan awarded by the North Carolina Biotechnology Center.

A white paper is available for downloading that describes the assay and validation runs in detail: Trana Discovery Staphylococcus aureus 201 HTS Assay White Paper.

In addition to the new S. aureus HTS assay, Trana has developed the Trana HIV 201 assay that is capable of identifying compounds that interfere with the use of tRNA by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the cause of AIDS. Organizations interested in licensing either assay should contact Trana at info@tranadiscovery.com or by calling 866-390-3452 (toll free) or +1-919-342-6192.

About Trana Discovery, Inc.
Trana Discovery, an anti-infective drug discovery technology company, helps its partners find new classes of drugs for the treatment of serious bacterial, viral, and fungal infectious diseases. Our proprietary assays identify compounds that work through a unique mechanism of action: inhibition of the target pathogen’s ability to use transfer RNA (tRNA) essential for propagation. The use of high-throughput screening assays developed by Trana Discovery will reduce the cost and time for drug discovery. Our assays provide licensing opportunities for exclusive rights to new drug classes. Trana Discovery has licensed the patented technology emanating from 20 years of research conducted at North Carolina State University, and holds patents that expand on this core technology and its use in high-throughput screening. The company is located in Cary, North Carolina. For more information, please visit www.tranadiscovery.com.

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CARY, NC (December 14, 2010) – Trana Discovery, Inc., an infectious disease drug discovery technology company, today announced that a recent study sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, part of the National Institutes of Health, affirms that bioactive compounds selected using the Trana HIV 201 High-Throughput (HTS) Assay inhibit viral strains demonstrating resistance to non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs). The results of the in vitro testing indicate that the selected compounds do not appear to act as NNRTIs, but rather by a different mechanism of action. In addition, these compounds were found to modestly inhibit a multi-drug resistant virus that has demonstrated resistance to commonly prescribed HIV treatments such as nevirapine, saquinavir, 3TC and AZT.

The Trana HIV assay is based on the premise that HIV has evolved to use tRNALys3 as a primer for initiation of reverse transcription. The tRNALys3 primer is required to copy its genetic material and generate new viruses. Therefore, the interaction between tRNALys3 and viral genomic RNA represents a potential novel target for HIV drug development. The Trana HIV assay is designed to select compounds that inhibit the use of tRNALys3 by HIV and that in turn can be developed as new anti-HIV drug therapies.

Through a collaboration with Southern Research Institute, the HIV assay was deployed in three separate screening campaigns against more than 120,000 diverse compounds. Seven bioactive compounds were selected for additional follow-up testing and characterization in dose-response against NNRTI-resistant HIV isolates in peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) assays. These seven compounds were previously found to have modest antiviral activity against HIV in a cell-based assay.

Testing against NNRTI-resistant viruses was conducted to study whether or not the compounds were acting as NNRTIs. The results from this testing indicated there was no apparent difference in antiviral activity based on the presence of NNRTI-resistance mutations in the viruses, which indicates the compounds don’t appear to act as NNRTIs.

“These results help to demonstrate that the Trana HIV assay identifies compounds that act through a different mechanism of action,” said Steve Peterson, CEO of Trana Discovery. “Trana has filed for patent protection on these compounds as well as their ability to inhibit HIV-resistant isolates. We are now in a position to license the HIV assay, drug class and bioactive compounds to qualified pharmaceutical companies for further development.”

High-throughput screening of an additional 200,000 compounds using the Trana HIV 201 HTS Assay has recently been completed. Compounds found to be active as a result of this additional screening are currently being identified for similar follow-up testing against HIV replication in cell-based assays. Based on prior experience, similar results are anticipated.

High-throughput screening using the Trana HIV 201 HTS Assay and follow-up testing of compounds for bioactivity against HIV in cell-based assays was performed under the NIAID, DAIDS contract N01-AI-70042; Roger Miller, Project Officer. In addition, testing of the compounds against NNRTI and multi-drug resistant HIV in PBMCs was supported by the NIAID, DAIDS contract N01-AI-70041; Steven Turk, Project Officer.

Click to view a video on the Trana HIV 201 HTS Assay and how it works.

The Trana HIV 201 HTS Assay can be used to search company-owned compound libraries, confirm the mechanism of action for black-hole leads, or screen other commercially available compound libraries. Organizations interested in licensing the assay, class and bioactive compounds should contact Trana at info@tranadiscovery.com or by calling 866-390-3452 (toll free) or +1-919-342-6192.

About Trana Discovery, Inc.
Trana Discovery, an anti-infective drug discovery technology company, helps its partners find new classes of drugs for the treatment of serious bacterial, viral, and fungal infectious diseases. Our proprietary assays identify compounds that work through a unique mechanism of action: inhibition of the target pathogen’s ability to use transfer RNA (tRNA) essential for propagation. The use of high-throughput screening assays developed by Trana Discovery will reduce the cost and time for drug discovery. Our assays provide licensing opportunities for exclusive rights to new drug classes. Trana Discovery has licensed the patented technology emanating from 20 years of research conducted at North Carolina State University, and holds patents that expand on this core technology and its use in high throughput screening. The company is located in Cary, North Carolina. For more information, please visit www.tranadiscovery.com.

Assays based on inhibition of tRNA receive $375,000 in funding…

CARY, NC (November 22, 2010) – Trana Discovery, Inc., an infectious disease drug discovery technology company, today announced that two of the Company’s drug discovery assays, the novel anti-HIV 201 HTS Drug Discovery Assay and the Staphylococcus aureus Antibiotic Drug Discovery Assay, qualified to receive federal grant funding under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. As a result, Trana will receive a cash grant totaling approximately $375,000. To date, Trana has received over $1.7 million for the development of its technology that identifies new therapeutic compounds that work through a unique mechanism of action: inhibition of the target pathogen’s ability to use transfer RNA (tRNA) essential for propagation.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act created a $1.0 billion federal program to provide tax credits and grants to small firms that show significant potential to produce new and cost-saving therapies, support jobs and increase U.S. competitiveness. The National Institute of Health oversaw the awarding of the grants under the Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project Program.

The Trana HIV 201 High-Throughput (HTS) Assay is designed to identify compounds that inhibit the use of tRNALys3 by HIV and has the ability to select compounds with anti-HIV bioactivity. Because tRNA is essential for HIV replication, disruption of the virus’ ability to use tRNA would represent a novel target for anti-HIV drug therapy.

Through a partnership with Southern Research Institute, the HIV assay was fully optimized for high-throughput screening and was deployed in three separate screening campaigns against over 120,000 diverse compounds. Compounds that showed bioactivity were identified in each screening and now a total of 51 chemistries have demonstrated anti-HIV bioactivity in cell-based assays. These chemistries are grouped within a few distinct families that constitute a new class of HIV antivirals.

Trana Discovery is in a position to license the HIV assay, drug class and lead compounds to qualified pharmaceutical companies for further development. The assay itself can be used to search company-owned compound libraries, confirm the mechanism of action for black-hole leads, or screen other commercially available compound libraries.

“HIV infections remain a chronic disease with no immediate cure on the horizon,” said Steve Peterson, CEO of Trana Discovery. “Therapies that inhibit the virus through novel approaches, such as with tRNA inhibition, will give rise to the ability of clinicians to provide many years of successful treatments for patients chronically infected with HIV without leading to AIDS defining events and infectious complications.”

Development of the HIV 201 HTS Assay was performed under the DAIDS, NIAID contract N01-AI-70042; Roger Miller, Project Officer.

Trana Discovery is also developing of a new HTS assay capable of selectively identifying compounds that inhibit the reproduction of Staphylococcus aureus bacteria. The assay is designed to identify compounds that inhibit an essential tRNA that is specific to Staph aureus. The project is intended to advance this assay to full HTS functionality for licensing to pharmaceutical companies. Development of the assay was made possible by a $250,000 Small Business Research Loan awarded to the company by the North Carolina Biotechnology Center.

“We are delighted that our efforts to commercialize these promising technologies have been recognized by the many organizations who are supporting this work,” said Peterson.

Organizations interested in licensing either of these technologies should contact Trana at info@tranadiscovery.com or by calling 866-390-3452 (toll free) or +1-919-342-6192.

About Trana Discovery, Inc.
Trana Discovery, an anti-infective drug discovery technology company, helps its partners find new classes of drugs for the treatment of serious bacterial, viral, and fungal infectious diseases. Our proprietary assays identify compounds that work through a unique mechanism of action: inhibition of the target pathogen’s ability to use transfer RNA (tRNA) essential for propagation. The use of high-throughput screening assays developed by Trana Discovery will reduce the cost and time for drug discovery. Our assays provide licensing opportunities for exclusive rights to new drug classes. Trana Discovery has licensed the patented technology emanating from 20 years of research conducted at North Carolina State University, and holds patents that expand on this core technology and its use in high throughput screening. The company is located in Cary, North Carolina. For more information, please visit www.tranadiscovery.com.

World-renowned experts will focus on prioritizing prime disease targets for future assay development and new applications of the unique drug discovery technology…

CARY, NC (March 16, 2010) – Trana Discovery, Inc., an anti-infective drug discovery technology company, today announced three new members of its Scientific Advisory Board. Joining chairperson Michael Ossi, MD are Karin Musier-Forsyth, Ph.D., Ohio Eminent Scholar, The Ohio State University; Luigi Xerri, Ph.D. Co-founder & Chief Scientific Officer, Protez Phamaceuticals; and Alexander Tropsha, Ph.D., Professor and Division Chair, Division of Medicinal Chemistry and Natural Products, University of North Carolina Eshelman School of Pharmacy.

Karin Musier-Forsyth received her Ph.D. in biophysical chemistry from Cornell University and completed a post doc at M.I.T. After professorships at the University of Minnesota, Karin joined the faculty of the Departments of Chemistry and Biochemistry at OSU as Ohio Eminent Scholar in 2007. During her career, Karin has been recognized with numerous awards, including the Merck Professor of Chemistry, Distinguished McKnight University Professor, Camille-Dreyfus Teacher Scholar Award, Pfizer Award in Enzyme Chemistry, and Distinguished Women Scholars Award in Science and Engineering. In 2009 she was named a Fellow of the American Association of the Advancement of Science. Her research in the area of Biological Chemistry focuses on investigations of quality control mechanisms in protein translation and molecular interactions critical for retroviral replication.

Before founding Protez Phamaceuticals, Luigi Xerri was Director of Antimicrobial Disease Strategy at GlaxoSmithKline. During his 30 years experience in R & D for antibacterials, Luigi led antibiotic discovery and preclinical as well as clinical development at GlaxoWellcome, made key contributions to the clinical and commercialization strategies for quinolones and cepholosporins, as well as having broad strategic responsibility for antibacterials. He is recognized internationally as an expert in antibiotics, with his research interest and areas of expertise including bacterial resistance (epidemiology and experimental evaluation), antibiotic pharmacokinetics/ pharmacodynamics and natural host defenses.

Alexander Tropsha obtained his PhD from Moscow State University and started his research in computational chemistry in Moscow, Russia, in 1980s and his postdoctoral fellow at UNC-Chapel Hill in 1989. He is a member of several editorial boards of scientific journals, permanent member of the BDMA Study Section at the NIH and an elected member of the Board and vice-chair of the international Cheminformatics and QSAR Society. Alexander’s general research interests are in the areas of Computer-Assisted Drug Design, Computational Toxicology, Cheminformatics, and Structural Bioinformatics. His overarching goals are to expand our understanding of biology through interdisciplinary collaboration and to encourage rapid medical improvements that can be translated quickly to patient care.

“We are delighted to be working with such a distinguished group of world-renowned leaders in biological chemistry, antibiotic research and informatics,” said Dr. Ossi. “Having this Board in place is an important step in supporting increased research and discovery efforts to combat the ever-growing burden of microbial resistance.”

Trana Discovery assays identify new drug compounds that work through a unique mechanism of action: inhibition of the target pathogen’s ability to use transfer RNA (tRNA) essential for propagation. Trana’s high-throughput HIV drug discovery assay is capable of identifying compounds that interfere with the use of tRNA by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the cause of AIDS. An HTS assay for Staphylococcus aureus bacteria is currently under development. Recently, Trana Discovery has begun proof of concept studies on a rapid diagnostic platform that could identify the presence of the vast majority of infection-causing bacteria and possibly fungi in under an hour.

Organizations interested in licensing this technology should contact Trana at info@tranadiscovery.com or by calling 866-390-3452 (toll free) or +1-919-342-6192.

About Trana Discovery, Inc.
Trana Discovery, an anti-infective drug discovery technology company, helps its partners find new classes of drugs for the treatment of serious bacterial, viral, and fungal infectious diseases. Our proprietary assays identify compounds that work through a unique mechanism of action: inhibition of the target pathogen’s ability to use transfer RNA (tRNA) essential for propagation. The use of high-throughput screening assays developed by Trana Discovery will reduce the cost and time for drug discovery. Our assays provide exclusive licensing opportunities to new drug classes and treatments. Trana Discovery has licensed the patented technology emanating from 20 years of research conducted at North Carolina State University, and holds patents that expand on this core technology and its use in high throughput screening. The company is located in Cary, North Carolina. For more information, please visit www.tranadiscovery.com.