About CTP

PROLOR Biotech`s core technology is the use of a short, naturally occurring amino acid sequence (ctp) to slow the removal of therapeutic proteins from the body without increasing toxicity or altering the overall biological activity.

PROLOR Biotech`s core technology was developed by Professor Irving Boime of Washington University in St. Louis, while investigating the female hormone human Chorionic Gonadotropin ("hCG"), which facilitates pregnancy by maintaining production of progesterone and stimulating development of the fetus.

hCG has a long life span of up to 2 days, meaning that the body is slow to break it down. LH (Luteinizing Hormone) is another female hormone having a chemical composition (amino acid sequence) very close to that of hCG. LH has a very short life span of 20 minutes.

Prof. Boime discovered that the only difference between hCG and LH is a short amino-acid sequence present in hCG and not LH which he called "CTP".

Through numerous experiments, Prof. Boime confirmed that CTP was responsible for the longer life span of hCG as compared to LH. He then proceeded to add CTP to different therapeutic proteins. The life span of the CTP-modified therapeutic proteins was dramatically increased.

The scientific founder of PROLOR Biotech, Dr. Fuad Fares, was a post-doctoral student of Prof. Boime and worked on these findings and experiments together with Prof. Boime. When Dr. Fares returned to Israel in 2001, he formed Modigenetech Ltd. to license the CTP technology from Washington University for certain therapeutic indications. Modigenetech Ltd. was thereafter acquired by PROLOR.