Database of Knockout Rat Models Doubles in Size

Oct. 30, 2008 - PRLog -- Transposagen Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. based in Lexington, KY, a member and sponsor of the Knockout Rat Consortium (KORC), announced today that the database of available knockout rat models has doubled in the last 90 days to over 65 different laboratory rat lines. Until 2008, knockout rats, laboratory rats with a single gene disrupted to mimic a human disease, were not available to academic and pharmaceutical researchers.  

Transposagen has exclusive worldwide rights to create MutaRatTM Knockout Models using a variety of mobile DNA technologies.  MutaRatTM Knockout Models that have been added to the KORC database include those with mutations in the following genes (human diseases associated with gene in parentheses):

   Cd226 (Lupus and autoimmune disease)
   Dcc (Esophageal Carcinoma, rheumatoid arthritis)
   Erbb4 (leukemia)
   Plcb3 (Bardet-Biedl syndrome type 1)
   Plce1 (Alzheimer’s Disease)
   Spata13 (colorectal tumors).  

The database can be accessed from the Knockout Rat Consortium website at http://www.knockoutrat.org.  In its first 4 full months of operation the website is averaging over 3,900 unique visitors a month including visitors from 38 different countries.  Procedures are being put in place to update the database at least every 30 days as new knockout rats are created.

“Transposagen is on target to create over 150 different knockout rat lines by the end of 2008 and its goal is to create 1,000 more unique rat lines in 2009,” said Dr. Eric Ostertag, the CEO of Transposagen Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. “Knockout rats are now available for the first time to researchers working on therapeutic treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, autism, and a variety of cancers.”

The rat is considered a better model than the mouse for human cardiovascular disease, diabetes, arthritis, and many autoimmune, neurological and behavioral disorders but a number of technological obstacles have made it very difficult to create knockout rat models in the past. Transposagen, working with members of the Knockout Rat Consortium, has solved these technological obstacles by developing a platform technology that permits random mutagenesis directly in the germ cells (sperm and oocytes) of mammalian model organisms, including rats.

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About Transposagen Biopharmaceuticals
Transposagen Biopharmaceuticals is a privately held biotechnology company based in Lexington, KY. The company is dedicated to providing unique animal models of human diseases for drug discovery and development. The production of rodent models is a $1.2 billion/year market and is expected to grow 12% annually through 2010. For more information, visit www.transposagenbio.com.

About the Knock Out Rat Consortium

The Knock Out Rat Consortium (KORC) is formed by individuals and institutions interested in the goal of creating knockout rats using multiple different technologies. The members of KORC are world renowned experts in the field of rodent mutagenesis. The animal models created by KORC are available to academic researchers through the National Rat Research and Resource Center (NRRRC) at the University of Missouri. www.knockoutrat.org