Centre for Skin Sciences in joint work on new peptides
The University of Bradford's Centre for Skin Sciences (CSS) and Follicum AB, a Swedish biotech company developing new peptide drugs in two areas, hair loss and diabetes, will begin research collaboration early in 2019.
The aim is to combine in vitro experiments with the use of bioinformatics data mining and analysis to investigate the mode of action of Follicum’s different peptide classes using an in silico approach (big data analysis).
The project will bring together the CSS bioinformatics capabilities, using open data analysis platforms, with its world-class cell and molecular biology expertise in skin and hair biology. The bioinformatics aspects of the project will be led by Dr Krzysztof Poterlowicz, with co-investigators Dr Julie Thornton and Prof Kevin McElwee leading on in vitro biology and transcriptomics.
Dr Gill Westgate, business manager for CSS, helped the academic team develop the partnership with Follicum during 2018. She said: "This project presents a very exciting opportunity to collaborate with Follicum at such an important point in their evolution."
CSS and the Faculty of Life Sciences will benefit from the collaboration with Follicum with the implementation of a multidisciplinary approach to investigating benefits of peptide technologies by harnessing access to big data via open data analysis platforms. This will form the basis for building a profile of how Follicum's peptide technology works at the cell and molecular science level to alter cell functions. Follicum has interests in both hair loss and diabetes and the project will explore potential links between these two application areas.