Ontogeny: Sourcing Drugs From Developmental Biology

The study of the developing embryo has been an unfashionable sector ofthe biological sciences for many years, and has often been written off as a descriptive discipline with little insight into underlying physiological processes. But this has recently all changed.

New findings regarding the molecular processes involved as embryonic cells differentiate have sparked renewed enthusiasm in the field, as it has become apparent that these embryonic processes may also be the same as those that control regenerative processes in normal adults. Indeed, Bernardine Healey, former director of the National Institutes of Health, has stated that developmental biology will be the source of most of the significant medical advances in the next 20 years.

At the forefront of this research is a young Cambridge, Massachusetts-based biotechnology company, Ontogeny. Researchers at the firm have identified a series of "inducing molecules," which control cell differentiation and tissue and organ formation, in the embryo. This is a much more manageable prospect than trying to find the complex processes going on in a mature system like the adult, says chief executive Doros Platika. So far the company is working on three inducing molecules and their pathways which are showing early promise in diseases such as Parkinson's, bone and cartilage disorders, cancer and infertility.