View source for Allozyne

{{Infobox company
| name = Allozyne Inc.
| logo = New Horizontal Logo.png
| image = 1600 Fairview Ave E, Seattle, Washington, 2014-10-13.jpg
| image_caption = Allozyne facility in the Eastlake neighborhood of Seattle
| type = [[Privately held company|Private]]
| genre =
| foundation = 2005 with $50 million capital raised to date from MPM Capital, OVP Venture Partners and ARCH
| founder = [[William Andrew Goddard III|William A. Goddard III]], [[David A. Tirrell]], Dee Datta,PhD
| Head Office =
| location_city = [[Seattle, Washington]]
| location_country = USA
| location = <!--modifies "Headquarters" entry-->
| locations = <!--# of locations-->
| key_people =
| area_served =
| industry = [[Biotechnology]]
| products =
| services =
| revenue =
| operating_income =
| net_income =
| num_employees =
| parent =
| divisions =
| subsid =
| owner =
| homepage = {{url|allozyne.com}}
| footnotes =
}}
'''Allozyne''' was a clinical stage{{Clarify|date=November 2015}} [[biotechnology]] company headquartered in [[Seattle]]'s biotech and high tech innovation corridor.{{Where?|date=November 2015}} Allozyne was founded in 2005 by [[California Institute of Technology]] researchers, and was incubated{{Clarify|date=November 2015}} by Accelerator Corporation.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.acceleratorcorp.com/node/89 |title=Accelerator Corporation Launches Allozyne |access-date=2011-04-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110903045504/http://www.acceleratorcorp.com/node/89 |archive-date=2011-09-03 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Its lead product candidate, AZ01, is a long acting [[interferon beta]] for the treatment of the relapsing remitting form of [[multiple sclerosis]], a chronic degenerative disease characterized by [[demyelination]] of nerve fibers leading to severe nerve damage and increasing disability. Multiple sclerosis is estimated to affect 400,000 individuals in the US alone and 2.5 million worldwide.<ref>{{Cite journal|vauthors=lich RF, Buschbacher RM, Cox MJ, Long WB, Winters KL, Becker DG |title= Strategies to reduce hyperthermia in ambulatory multiple sclerosis patients |journal= J Long Term Eff Med Implants |volume= 14|pages=467–479 |year=2004 | pmid= 15698375 |issue=6 |doi=10.1615/jlongtermeffmedimplants.v14.i6.40}}</ref> AZ01 is currently undergoing Phase I clinical trials in the US. Preclinical data indicates that AZ01 has the potential to be dosed once monthly compared to the current standard of care dosed anywhere from once daily to once per week.<ref>{{Cite journal|vauthors=Caon C, Din M, Ching W, Tselis A, Lisak R, Khan O |title= Clinical course after change of immunomodulating therapy in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis |journal= European Journal of Neurology |volume= 13|pages=471–474 |date=May 2006 | pmid= 16722971 |doi=10.1111/j.1468-1331.2006.01273.x |issue=5|s2cid= 36638013 }}</ref>
Allozyne's technology also enables the development of next generation [[antibody-drug conjugates]] (ADCs). This approach results in homogeneous ADC products that are stably conjugated.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://adcreview.com/resource-guide/allozyne/|title=Allozyne|work=ADC Review|date=27 October 2014 |access-date=19 November 2015}}</ref>
In 2014, Allozyne was acquired by [[MedImmune]], based on its ADC technology.  Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.biospace.com/News/allozyne-inc-sold-for-scrap-as-medimmune-snaps-up/347123|title=Allozyne Inc Sold For Scrap As MedImmune Snaps Up Rights|work=biospace.com|access-date=19 November 2015}}</ref>
==Platform and therapeutic focus==
Allozyne has a therapeutic focus on chronic [[central nervous system]] and [[autoimmune diseases]] such as multiple sclerosis and [[Crohn's disease]]. Their two platforms, Caesar and Vigenère, enable the creation of novel therapeutics that address unmet medical need associated with these diseases.
The names of the two platforms were inspired by the two [[encryption]] techniques used prior to, and during, [[World War II]] known as the [[Caesar cipher]] and [[Vigenère cipher]]. These platforms, like historical ciphering technologies, involve changes to the way messages are interpreted.  These changes include modifications to the cellular machinery of both [[E. coli]] and mammalian cells so that the information encrypted in their [[DNA]] can introduce a variety of protein building blocks beyond the 20 that are found in all proteins throughout nature.  This process of biological encryption has come to be known as "biociphering". Additional available building blocks enable the creation more advanced protein therapeutics.  The ability to customize the intrinsic properties and location of the 21st [[amino acid]], allows for a variety of [[bioconjugation]] chemistries to be directed to any specific location within the protein.  These biociphering platforms have opened the door to new protein therapeutic configurations including antibody-toxin, antibody-antibody, long acting as well as others. Application of these platforms to the development of protein based therapeutics enable therapeutics that address areas of unmet medical need. The first application of this technology was used to incorporate a variety of methionine analogs into human recombinant interferon beta.<ref>{{Cite journal|vauthors=Wang A, Nairn NW, Johnson RS, Tirrell DA, Grabstein K |title= Processing of N-terminal unnatural amino acids in recombinant human interferon-beta in Escherichia coli |journal= ChemBioChem |volume=9 |pages=324–330 |date=January 2008 |pmid= 18098265 |doi=10.1002/cbic.200700379 |issue=2|s2cid= 25919901 |url= https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20150114-100617886 }}</ref>  One [[azide]] containing [[methionine]] analog was selected for its compatibility with a [[bioconjugation]] chemistry developed by [[Nobel Laureate]], [[K. Barry Sharpless]] of [[The Scripps Research Institute]], known as "[[Click chemistry]]  This chemistry enabled the engineering of a long acting form of human interferon beta by conjugation to a [[half-life]] extending moiety known as [[polyethylene glycol]] (PEG).  Results were presented at the 2007 national ACS meeting.<ref>{{Cite web |url= http://www.allozyne.com/Scientific%20Publications/ACS%20poster%200708.pdf |title= Site-specific PEGylation of interferon–beta by Cu(I)–catalyzed cycloaddition |access-date= 2010-07-21 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110707113730/http://www.allozyne.com/Scientific%20Publications/ACS%20poster%200708.pdf |archive-date= 2011-07-07 |url-status= dead }}</ref>  On July 15, 2010, Allozybe announced the signing of an exclusive license agreement with The Scripps Research Institute for Click chemistry.<ref>{{cite press release |title=Allozyne Fortifies Its Proprietary Position with a License for Click Chemistry, a Bioconjugation Enabling Cycloaddition Technology from The Scripps Research Institute  |publisher=BusinessWire |date=15 July 2010 |url=http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20100715005560&newsLang=en|access-date=21 July 2010}}</ref>
==References==
<!--- See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Footnotes on how to create references using <ref></ref> tags which will then appear here automatically -->
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*{{official website|http://www.allozyne.com/}}
{{Coord|47.63415|N|122.326789|W|display=t}}
[[Category:AstraZeneca]]
[[Category:Companies based in Seattle]]
[[Category:Pharmaceutical companies established in 2005]]
[[Category:Defunct pharmaceutical companies of the United States]]
[[Category:Health care companies based in Washington (state)]]
[[Category:2014 mergers and acquisitions]]