New global alliance to develop class-leading technology

A team of world leaders in the growing scientific field of biomolecular interaction, relating to basic biomedical research and the discovery of new pharmaceuticals, has been the recipient of a new Australian Research Council Linkage Grant.

The project combines the knowledge and expertise of the laboratories of Associate Professor Kevin Pfleger of The University of Western Australia/Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research and Professor Stephen Hill of The University of Nottingham (UK) who are both leaders in bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET)/fluorescence technology development. They will be working with the bioluminescent industry leader Promega Corporation and the leading high-throughput instrumentation company BMG Labtech Pty Ltd (Australia).

The group will work to develop class-leading BRET technologies for real-time monitoring of molecular interactions.

Associate Professor Kevin Pfleger said the integrated international approach was critical for the development of the best technology, enabling academics, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies to discover novel treatments with fewer side effects for a range of disorders, including cancer.

“Working together to develop the assay approach, reagents and instrumentation will enable class-leading high throughput and real-time resonance energy transfer assays to be established, specifically to monitor G protein-coupled receptor pharmacology in live cells,” he said.

“It’s expected that the proposed assay systems will be major advances for the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, significantly improving pharmaceutical development, both in terms of identifying novel compounds of interest and better understanding the biochemical basis of pharmacological activity,” he said.