Compugen finds new in silico protein R&D tool

Tel Aviv, Israel-based biotechnology firm Compugen has developed an in silico predictive approach allowing the discovery of novel human transcripts and proteins from portions of so-called junk DNA. This methodology has already enabled Compugen to discover several previously-unknown therapeutic protein candidates.

The DNA sequences utilized by the new methodology are essentially ancient, mutated copies of current genes, termed processed pseudogenes. The firm says that its methodology has been shown to both verify the sequences' annotation on the genome and also allow the use of pseudogene sequences as blue prints for new variants and, therefore, novel transcripts and proteins.