Ozone Group launches protein sequencer in India

Mumbai, Oct 30 (UNI) The Ozone Group, an established player in pharmaceutical and consumer healthcare space, yesterday announced the launch of India's first protein sequencer, a breakthrough technology in protein science leading to advances in drug development.

The protein sequencer is developed under the Ozone Research Frontier in the US, the Research and Development division of the Ozone Group.

The world-wide market for protein sequencers is around 20 billion dollars and the Indian market is about Rs 50-70 crore.

A protein sequencer is an instrument that is used to determine the sequence of amino acids in a protein. It works by tagging and removing one amino acid at a time, which is analyzed and identified.

This is repetitively done for the whole protein, until the whole sequence is established.

Speaking to reporters yesterday, Dr Bakshy Chibber said, ''The methodology of the new protein sequencer is based on new patented chemistry. The machine developed by the Ozone Research Frontier is 60 times more efficient than the present machines as it can identify 12 protein sequences in 10 minutes. We hope that the efficiency of the machine will prove to be beneficial for drug development and diagnostics.'' The team working on this project at Ozone Research Frontier was headed by Dr Bakshy Chibber, Research Associate Professor in the department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Notre Dame. Prof Chibber worked on the concept of protein sequencing in New Delhi for one year in 2006, after that he returned to US where he worked closely with Ozone Research President Mike Shields and his team to develop the first functional prototype.

The protein sequencer will also be displayed at 'Analytical Anacon India 2007', an international biotechnology exhibition for analytical instrumentation, life sciences, laboratory technology and services, starting from October 31 to November 2, 2007 at Hitex Exhibition Centre in Hyderabad.

UNI