Tiziana Life looks for secrets of long life with new acquisition

18th Jul 2016 12:03

(ShareCast News) - Tiziana Life Sciences has purchased key assets from Sardinia-based biobanking and genomics research company Shardna for €258,000, giving it access to the genetic data of nearly 13,000 people from the Ogliastra region, where life expectancy is high.The AIM-listed clinical stage biotechnology group has also established an Italian subsidiary in Sardinia, LonGevia Genomics, specifically to develop these assets to identify novel drug targets and diagnostic applications, through integration with its global research network.Professor Napoleone Ferrara, a member of Tiziana's scientific advisory board, said the acquisition "represents an opportunity to study a unique collection of DNA samples from a homogeneous and well-characterized population". "This could advance our understanding of aging and other key pathophysiological processes and potentially result in diagnostic and therapeutic advances."Tiziana said the genetically-homogenous community, which has an exceptionally high number of centenarians, has certified record data that traces back genealogy over 400 hundred years.Founded in 2000, Shardna was the first Italian research company in the field of genomics, created through a public private partnership. Its research was aimed at the identification of genetic and environmental factors which carry a predisposition to common multifactorial diseases through the study of the genetically homogeneous population from the isolated communities in the Ogliastra region of Sardinia.At 1208 BST, Tiziana shares were up 16% to 171p.