Our target discovery platform, the BiFAR identifies clinically relevant critical genes and proteins that, when inhibited, reverse the disease phenotype. It allows high throughput, genome-wide functional screening of inhibitory elements (like siRNA) that are responsible for certain traits (phenotype). It is protected by more than 35 patents and applications in the U.S. and abroad, among which the fundamental patent covering the basic concept and methods of functional screening for target genes, using inhibitory elements in combination with DNA microarrays. On the target genes that we discover, which are critical for the disease phenotype, we develop sequence-based inhibitory drug product candidates such siRNA molecules and antibodies to treat the disease. The BiFAR platform has been applied in Quark’s programs to generate a number of innovative targets. Several of these targets are in development by Quark and its partners.

BiFAR Platform Overview

BiFAR identifies clinically relevant critical proteins that, when inhibited, reverse the disease phenotype. The BiFAR platform is applicable to virtually any specified medical condition or disease. In practice, clinical endpoints for a given unmet medical need are first defined with the support of opinion leaders in their medical field and then translated back to the drug target(s) of interest. Gene-inhibiting elements such as siRNA, antisense and/or dominant negative peptides are used to inhibit genes and proteins in cell systems that mimic the pathophysiology of the disease. Following a pathological stimulus, microarrays are utilized to select appropriate genes/proteins, the inhibition of which has a critical effect on the disease phenotype related to the clinical endpoint. The technology is illustrated in the POWERPOINT PRESENTATION and additional details are provided in the Company’s Technology Backgrounder .

Highlights:

Direct identification of critical target proteins and their disease phenotype-related function in a high-throughput manner: novel microarray-based phenotype-driven functional profiling platform to uncover the critical genes and proteins knock out of which reveres (enhance or inhibit) the phenotype that mimics a clinical endpoint

Versatile and updated: uses variety of gene inhibition technologies antisense, siRNA and/or dominant negative

Use of innovative technologies to identify secreted/membrane proteins without any prior knowledge of their sequence

Compatible with any microarray format: oligomer or cDNA