CODA Genomics, Inc. Obtains NIAID Funding for Synthetic Biology and
Protein Expression of DNA Mutant Gene Sets


IRVINE, Calif., Sept. 1 -- CODA Genomics, Inc.(CODA), a
synthetic biology and protein expression company, announced today
that it has
obtained NIAID funding for expansion of its synthetic gene assembly
and
protein expression technology to enable simultaneous formation of
coordinated
mutant sets of genes quickly, easily, and inexpensively. Such easy
access to
large libraries of directed mutations of natural proteins is
critical to
optimal protein-based drug discovery, rapid development of DNA
vaccines, and
exploration of protein structure/function relationships. The grant,
in excess
of $500,000, is a Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) award
between CODA
and the University of California, Irvine (UCI). Dr. She-Pin Hung is
the
principal investigator (PI) for CODA, and Dr. Richard H. Lathrop is
the PI for
UCI.
CODA Genomics offers gene kits and services optimized to
assemble DNA into
single gene products that are guaranteed to express the desired
protein.
Current gene synthesis methods involve costly and time-consuming
PCR, DNA
sequencing, and sequence correction steps not necessary with CODA.
CODA genes
are optimized for correct self assembly, and also for
characteristics that
guarantee they express the desired protein at high levels in a
biological
expression system of choice, currently a difficult hurdle in protein
drug
discovery research. Most importantly, CODA's patented Translation
Kinetics
methods can create engineered DNA constructs that allow facile
research on
protein structure/function properties such as solubility, excretion,
and
folding.
Dr. Robert Molinari, CEO of CODA, comments, "CODA makes
synthetic biology
so robust that we can offer kits which guarantee that individual
researchers
in their own labs can assemble genes and express proteins. This
saves time
and expense. For large protein drug SAR (structure-activity
relationship)
studies, libraries of individual directed constructs can be made
easily and
quickly, with relative certainty that proteins will express
properly. We are
delighted the NIAID has chosen to fund the further development of
this
technology for large mutational studies."

CODA Genomics, Inc. was started in 2004 to commercialize the DNA
assembly
and protein expression optimization work from the laboratories of
Drs. Richard
Lathrop and G. Wesley Hatfield at the University of California,
Irvine. The
basic science was developed under a prestigious Information
Technology
Research (ITR) award to Drs. Lathrop and Hatfield from the National
Science
Foundation (NSF). In addition to DNA assembly thermodynamics, CODA
optimizes
codon usage preferences AND patented codon pair-wise combinations
that control
translational kinetics to generate high levels of the proper protein
constructs. CODA's motto, "Synthetics Genes -- Guaranteed to
Express." is put
into practice with the company's CODExpress(TM) Gene Kits and
Services. In
addition, CODA offers collaborations for protein drug and production
engineering based on large structure/activity studies of related
proteins.
These technologies allow researchers to assemble DNA constructs
reliably, more
quickly, less expensively, and on a scale never before possible.

SOURCE CODA Genomics, Inc.
Web Site: www.codagenomics.com

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