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ON MARCH 19, 2008, On the brink of commencement, TIGM announced the availability of a special TIGM GRANT-IN-AID PROGRAM exclusively for faculty and researchers from Texas A&M Health Science Center. The goal of the TIGM GRANT-IN-AID PROGRAM is to stimulate research using mouse genetic models of development and disease through the OMNI Bank II resource available through TIGM. For more information visit rgs.tamu.edu.

TIGM is located off Raymond Stotzer Parkway in College Station, next to the Large Animal Clinic at Texas A&M University’s College of Veterinary Medicine and across from the future home of the Texas Institute for Preclinical Studies.

The 43,000-square-foot building was designed by Perkins+Will and was built by the Fretz Construction of Houston.

Another step is about to be made toward establishing the Research Valley as a major player in biotechnology research. The Research Valley could be the birthplace of the next breakthrough life-saving medical treatment due to the work of the Texas Institute for Genomic Medicine (TIGM), set to open its doors within a few weeks after years of planning.

TIGM is the result of collaboration between Texas A&M University, the Texas A&M Health Science Center, and Lexicon Genetics Incorporated in The Woodlands. It is an independent, 501(c)(3) non-profit research center that uses advanced technologies to discover breakthroughs in science and medicine and accelerate the pace of medical discoveries while creating jobs in the life science industry.

TIGM’s libraries and resources will not only be available to researchers from universities across the state, they will also be open to members of the private sector who will attempt to use the knowledge gained at the institute to develop new treatments for chronic medical conditions and possibly even create new vaccines that could protect Americans from acts of bio-terrorism.

This institute uses patented gene knockout technology using a library of knockout mice. The National Institutes of Health has prioritized this type of mouse genome research as one of the most promising for creating the next generation of medical treatments. Guy Diedrich, TIGM board member and managing director of Texas A&M’s Technology Commercialization Center, explains that the mouse genome shares 99% of the human genome, which is why it has been the widely-recognized model for human experimentation for decades. There are roughly 23,500 genes in both humans and mice. “With Lexicon’s technology, we are able to go in and target a single gene out of that 23,500, knock it out of an embryonic stem cell clone, and grow a new mouse,” explains Diedrich. “So what you have then is a mouse that has all of the genes except for one.”

The mouse is then studied to find out the function of that particular gene, which is revealed through the gene’s absence. “For instance, you may knock out a gene and find out that mouse eats three times as much as other mice but doesn’t gain any more weight,” said Diedrich. “So you may have a target for obesity.”

Because you can’t knock a gene out of the human body, the goal is to create a compound that blocks the function of the gene for a fixed period of time. It would be comparable to blockers, a type of drug that is currently on the market that blocks human functions in the body. Antihistamines, which block histamine receptors, are the most common. The way for those compounds to get developed is through the knockout mice, Diedrich said, because it is unethical to take a human embryonic stem cell clone and knock a gene out to see what mutation takes place. TIGM seeks to have as many of the 23,500 different genes knocked out as possible because the more genes knocked out, he said, the more genes you can study and find the most valuable functions.

“The largest library (of knockout mice) to date has about 10% of the mouse genome knocked out,” said Diedrich. “When TIGM opens its doors in College Station, we’ll have about 60% of the mouse genome knocked out. It will be the largest library of knockout mice in the world by a long shot.”

Diedrich pointed out that the 100 top selling drugs in the world are based on just 43 blocked functions. However, TIGM will be exploring over 15,000 potential blocked functions. Although not every gene that will be knocked out will be significant or desirable, people will care about the gene that can slow tumor growth, affect diabetes, or affect heart disease. “Those are the ones we’re going to focus on, but they have to be discovered,” said Diedrich.

TIGM is expected to bring a lot of attention to the Research Valley because it will become a magnet for genomic researchers. “We have the largest library in the world right here in College Station,” he said. “Researchers from all over the world will be wanting access to that library. They’ll want to do research with TIGM. They’ll want the mice sent to them from the repository. It will basically be a hub for the rest of the world to come for knockout mice. We fully expect over time, based on research, for there to be spin out companies formed and for there to be jobs created not just in the Brazos Valley but in Texas.”

At the ground-breaking ceremony on June 20, 2006, Governor Rick Perry said, “TIGM will not only be a great source of hope and healing for the sick and injured, but a tremendous source of opportunity and jobs for Texas families.” Over the next ten years, TIGM is expected to create 5,000 new high-paying jobs in Texas at an average salary of $60,000. Furthermore, it is projected that the institute will attract a host of biotech firms that want to be near the world’s premiere genetic research facility, and it will also help Texas draw millions more in federal and private research dollars.

“By investing taxpayer dollars in high-tech research and development projects like TIGM, Texas stands to reap economic and scientific benefits far greater than the money spent up front. History shows that when government, industry and academia join forces to solve great challenges, the possibilities for revolutionary developments are limitless,” Perry said at the groundbreaking ceremony. “With the breaking of ground on the Texas Institute for Genomic Medicine at Texas A&M University, we have taken a critical step towards that future.”

The location at Texas A&M was chosen because it has several unique resources. “I don’t know if there’s another institution that has a world class vet school, a world class medical school, and a designated homeland security center in combination,” said Diedrich.

The institute has been in the works since July 16, 2005 when Governor Rick Perry announced that a $50 million Texas Enterprise Fund grant would be given to help create TIGM. “I am proud that Texas is committing $50 million from the Enterprise Fund to help establish the Texas Institute for Genomic Medicine, a groundbreaking genetics research center that will bring 5,000 new jobs to Texas, attract millions of new dollars for medical research and lead to the development of life-saving medical treatments and therapies,” Perry said at the time. The $50 million grant matches the largest amount Texas has ever awarded from the Enterprise Fund for a single project.

Lexicon has used $35 million of the Enterprise Fund grant to create two copies of its mouse cell line library and provide them to TIGM. One copy is housed at the Texas A&M University System Health Science Center’s Institute of Biosciences and Technology (IBT) in Houston while the other is at the new College Station facility. Lexicon also will provide TIGM with software needed to manage and analyze its gene knockout technology.

The remaining $15 million was used by the Texas A&M System to build the new facilities in College Station, to remodel the IBT facilities, and to manage the daily operations of the institute.

The RVP was involved in the early stages of TIGM. “Our initial role was in a show of support for the announced Texas Institute of Genomic Medicine (TIGM) where The Research Valley Partnership provided in October 2005 a $250,000 loan to support the economic development component of the Institute,” said Director of Innovation Services for RVP Charles Martinez. “In July 2006, TIGM repaid the loan that was made.”