BioWorld International Correspondent

PARIS - Nokad reported that it had obtained its first functional Knock-Out models in rats, having already created several KO models in mice.

Using the new model, Nokad said it has discovered a new function for the erythropoietin receptor, and said this points the way to a treatment for platelet deficiency following chemotherapy, for example.

Nokad, of Evry, France, was founded in January 2004 and completed an initial funding round in July 2005. It has developed a patented technology for creating functional knockout animal models designed to facilitate the study of the role played by proteins involved in pathological processes and to identify new therapeutic targets. It says its approach makes it possible to obtain Knock-Out-animals within six months, compared to 12 to 24 months using conventional means.

In addition, Nokad said its technology speeds up the functional characterization of proteins and also enables therapeutic targets to be validated in the most relevant animal species. In particular, it allows Nokad to test synergies and interactions between proteins simultaneously through the in vivo deactivation of the production of one or several proteins in a KO-Like animal. The protein's function is deactivated in vivo through the induction of a specific immune response.

Nokad pointed out that it already has applied this technology to deactivate proteins in an animal that over-expresses a protein and in models of a particular pathology (obese or diabetic animal, or a cancer model).

Nokad has been marketing its products and services to the pharmaceutical industry and biotechnology companies since September 2005, when the only KO animal it had to offer was a particular species of mouse. Each animal developed by Nokad is specific to each customer, in terms of the protein deactivated, the deactivation mechanism and the testing techniques used to verify the protein's deactivation.