# Peptone and the Institute of Oncology Research announce collaborative research agreement

> Peptone and the Institute of Oncology Research in Bellinzona began a sponsored research collaboration to identify and advance novel prostate cancer targets.

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Published: 2023-11-30

LONDON and BELLINZONA. Peptone and the Institute of Oncology Research, or IOR, announced the start of a sponsored research collaboration in prostate cancer. The work will focus on identifying and advancing novel oncology targets through translational models, with the goal of developing new medicines for people with prostate cancer.

The collaboration brings together Peptone's work on intrinsically disordered proteins, generative machine learning, and hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrometry with patient insights arising from Prof. Andrea Alimonti's research group in Bellinzona.

> "Our collaboration is an excellent example of an efficient technology-transfer process and a growing research and biotech ecosystem in Ticino, Switzerland," said Peptone CEO Dr. Kamil Tamiola.

Peptone applies atomic-level biophysics, ultra-low-latency hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrometry, supercomputing, and generative AI to study intrinsically disordered proteins. These proteins have important roles in health and disease, but their lack of a fixed structure has made them difficult to address with conventional drug discovery methods.

> "Prostate cancer remains a highly prevalent disease with significant unmet clinical needs," said Prof. Andrea Alimonti, incoming Director and Professor of Molecular Oncology at IOR. "Recent findings from my team demonstrate that advanced prostate cancer is regulated by several intrinsically disordered proteins, many of which can also control the tumor immune response. Targeting those proteins could be a way to defeat this poorly curable disease."

## About IOR

The Institute of Oncology Research was established in Bellinzona, Switzerland, in 2003 and is affiliated with the Università della Svizzera italiana. Its international research teams work across cancer biology, genomics, molecular oncology, and experimental therapeutics.

Together with the Institute for Research in Biomedicine, IOR is a member of the Bellinzona Institutes of Science, a nonprofit association that promotes and coordinates scientific research and teaching.

[Original source](https://www.eu.peptone.io/press-release/peptone-and-the-institute-of-oncology-research-ior-bellinzona-announce-collaborative-research-agreement/)