Madison, WI October 8, 2008 – Quincy Bioscience, a Madison, WI-based biotechnology company extends its congratulations to the following researchers for their work which led to the 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry: Osamu Shimomura, Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), Woods Hole, MA, and Boston University Medical School, MA, to Martin Chalfie, Columbia University, New York, NY, and to Roger Y. Tsien, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA.
In a press release issued by The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the researchers are being recognized for their work in discovering, isolating, and utilizing a glowing protein in a species of jellyfish called Aequorea victoria that has become “a guiding star for biochemistry.”
Osamu Shimomura discovered this green fluorescent protein (GFP) in 1962 when he observed the glowing jellyfish in Puget Sound, WA. He also discovered that the green glow of the jellyfish was actually due to a calcium-binding protein (CaBP), called apoaequorin. Since these discoveries, the green glowing protein “has become one of the most important tools used in contemporary bioscience,” the press release stated. By attaching itself to other biochemical components, scientists have utilized this jellyfish protein to map cellular mechanisms and observe previously invisible processes such as the development of nerve cells in the brain.
The story continues as scientists from Quincy Bioscience have developed uses for the CaBP protein, apoaequorin. Though used in similar ways in “cellular studies‚Äù, this protein has demonstrated a remarkable ability to protect cells in the nervous system from death; with the potential to treat the cell damage that occurs in brain diseases . Apoaequorin is very similar to the CaBP’s found in the human nervous system. “We are truly blessed by the work of these Nobel-winning scientists for their vision and dedication. Their ground-breaking work has provided the opportunities to pursue new applications of this protein and to offer hope to the many that are afflicted with age-related disorders,” said Mark Underwood, Quincy Bioscience President.
Quincy Bioscience is focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel compounds to fight the aging process. The company’s products focus on restoring calcium balance related to neurodegenerative disorders and other destructive agerelated mechanisms. Quincy Bioscience is developing health applications of the jellyfish protein apoaequorin for dietary supplement and pharmaceutical products. The company’s first product, Prevagen, was launched in the fall of 2007 and is intended to supplement the loss of critical calcium-binding proteins depleted in the normal course of healthy aging.
