Filing a Patent can be a good way to build credibility without all the inconvenience and criticism that comes with peer review. Patrick Muraca at Nuclea Biotechnologies is a master of the art of using patents with their air of respectable authority to bluff investors, whilst always avoiding the scrutiny of knowledgeable peers.
Here's a link to a copy of US Patent 07354725 as a PDF document. This seems at first glance to be a technical document describing the development of some antibodies that claim to detect all members of several families of protein kinases. There are long lists of these kinases with their unusual names and an excellent list of nasty diseases. There are also some nice protein and DNA sequence lists which help to pad it all out to 44 pages - more than enough to switch off the average non-specialist.
But if you know just a bit about this type of thing, you'll see the glaring holes in the document. I don't have time now for a full demolition job on this, but here's a conclusion.
This document describes the development of some polyclonal antibodies (unsophisticated research tools - $2000 of work by a contract lab might have gone into this) that claim to be able to detect most members of the family of proteins called kinases. It alludes to the important role that kinases play in many diseases and then leaps insanely forward to claim that these tools can be the key to diagnosing these diseases, steering treatment and ultimately curing people of these ailments.
If you are a scientist and want to see some jaw droppingly bad pseudo-science, go to Table 5 on page 39 of the PDF. Here Muraca claims to have used his Pan-TK1 polyclonal antisera to analyse human serum and simultaneously "detect the relative phosphorylation of 42 different receptor tyrosine kinases". All that with a single polyclonal antibody. No data on this of course, just a list of the 42 RTKs and an accession number to the gene.
My point, as ever on this blog, is to expose Muraca's blatant disregard for science and his willingness to waste others' money on bogus research.
4 comments:
Have read this with great interest and an increasing sense that it is exactly right. Is there a way that we can make contact to compare notes?
I agree. Would love to be able to talk to you about your findings. Please email me, Caitlin, at caburchi@colby.edu
Why is this company still in business?
Product? Service/Testing? "The innovative tests developed identify a patient's predictive response to a particular therapy or assess the risk of the disease developing or recurring later in life."
"Innovative" I think not. In the years this company has been in business they have contributed nothing drawn NO real revenue. Investor money is not revenue.
Thanks for your comments on this. Worryingly it keeps moving in the direction of predictive testing on potentially vulnerable patients.
Wild claims are being made for groundbreaking new tests in diverse areas - prostate, breast, and colon cancers as well as heart failure.
None of these are published in peer reviewed journals, just press released on the website and no doubt served up to would be investors.
As 'Anonymous' points out, none of these breakthroughs ever seem to emerge in any form for evaluation or marketing. My view is that there is absolutely nothing there. Do let us know what you think?
Can anyone at the company shed any light on when humanity might be able to make us of these outstanding discoveries?
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