A Penn State professor recently developed a completely new method of making medicine.

Davis Ng, assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, has created a new way to synthesize proteins using yeasts instead of traditional mammalian cells.

"In order for proteins to function properly, they must fold in a certain shape. If they do not, they are useless," Ng said. "For many years, pharmaceutical companies have used live cells. Although these cells worked, it was an expensive way to produce them."

Ng said yeasts are a "great factory" to properly fold the proteins that are needed for drugs, at a substantially lower cost. Plant and animal cells, as well as bacteria, were also tested to synthesize proteins.

Ng explained that animal cells, although used in the past, are prone to disease and pathogens. Bacteria lack certain parts to properly fold proteins. Yeast is very inexpensive and reliable to produce these synthesized proteins on a large scale.

Ng was working with a graduate student in lab when he realized the potential of using yeasts, and then designed more experiments to test it.

"This, like most scientific discoveries, was not the basis of the experiment we were performing at the time," Ng said. "It is pretty amazing."

Insulin and the vaccine for hepatitis B have already been produced using Ng's research.

"We have provided a scientific explanation as to why these proteins could not fold before. The science of this makes perfect sense," Ng said. "The next step of this process is applying it to produce other drugs."

Once the discovery was made, Ng began the process of applying for a patent with the help of Matthew Smith, technology licensing officer, and graduate intern Matthew Hales.

"The combination of skills, of being able to understand the science and being able to create a business case for the science, is essential to market such technical products to industry," Hales said.

Ng has already submitted the disclosure and is still awaiting a formal patent, which may take up to three years. Ng applied for the patent in December 2001.

Christie Blackman, a research assistant, joined Ng's team toward the end of the process. She aided in getting the information to publication, as well as closing up the entire process.

"This is such a great potential for human health," Blackman said. "It feels good when your work is able to influence others in such a positive way."