Trana Discovery Begins Development of Rapid Diagnostic Platform

Feb. 16, 2010 - PRLog -- CARY, NC – Trana Discovery, Inc., an anti-infective drug discovery technology company, today announced that it 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. The concept uses transfer RNA (tRNA) to detect the presence of infectious microorganisms in patient samples and, if present, identify the species of the infecting organism. If successful, this diagnostic platform could accelerate the speed and accuracy of diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases in virtually any care setting, including hospitals, outpatient clinics, and doctors' offices.

Rapid diagnostic tests are available for a few species of bacteria and some viruses, such as Strep, MRSA and influenza. However, many organisms remain difficult to identify rapidly, often requiring incubation periods over several days. Because of the need to treat infections in a timely manner, physicians often resort to treating patients using one or more broad spectrum agents while waiting for test results to identity a specific pathogen. This approach results in greater expense, higher morbidity and the potential for increased bacterial resistance when compared to an agent chosen with the specific pathogen identified.

Most pathogens have a unique profile of transfer RNAs (tRNAs) necessary for propagation. The Trana proprietary diagnostic technology capitalizes on the significance of modified nucleotide bases within transfer RNAs (tRNAs) and the ability to synthesize mimics of the anticodon stem loops (ASLs) of these tRNAs just as they occur in nature. During the proof-of-concept studies, an array will be populated with organism-specific RNA identifiers that are modified with a fluorescent label that binds to microbial ribosomes present in a patient's sample. A specific molecular profile identifies the presence of a specific pathogen. Because the tRNA-ribosome binding is rapid, specific, and strong, tRNA-based diagnostics offers promise for application as a rapid diagnostic platform for identification of a variety of infectious microorganisms.

"We are delighted to be working on the development of this new diagnostic tool that we believe can reduce the prescribing of unnecessary antibiotics or multiple drug regimens," said Steven Peterson, CEO of Trana Discovery. “We envision that patient outcomes can be improved by initiating the right treatment at a period of time critical for effective intervention."

"The development of a tRNA-based rapid diagnostic is a step towards more effective and rational prescribing of anti-infectives," said Peterson. "The technology has the potential to revolutionize the world of in vitro diagnostics."

Trana began proof of concept studies at facilities in the Research Triangle Park, North Carolina area. The company expects results from the initial experiments later in 2010.

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.

For more information, contact Karl von Gunten at 919-931-1434 or karlvongunten@tranadiscovery.com

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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. For more information, please visit www.tranadiscovery.com.