Scientists have been using PowerLab data acquisition systems to advance their research since 1988. Many customers have remained loyal PowerLab users as they further their careers internationally.
Dr. M. (Ken) Kengatharan, co-founder of South San Francisco based biopharmaceutical company, Athenagen, Inc (later re-named CoMentis, Inc) has been using PowerLab systems to advance his research for 15 years. During this time he has progressed from being a doctoral student to becoming Vice President, Translational Research and Scientific Affairs at CoMentis.
Dr. Kengatharan is currently setting up new PowerLab systems for in-vitro and in-vivo assays, particularly in-vivo blood pressure type work, at CoMentis. His company is engaged in the discovery and development of small-molecule drugs to treat Alzheimer’s disease, age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and cognitive disorders. Dr. Kengatharan’s responsibilities include leading the recently initiated inflammation program focusing on a novel target as well as identifying and evaluating new drug discovery and development opportunities from within CoMentis’s discovery platforms. Dr. Kengatharan is also responsible for in-licensing new drug development opportunities.
“What I like about PowerLab is that once you set up the template for a days work, you just pick up the template, zero everything, calibrate it, save it with a new date and you’re up and running. This is very simple. We don’t have to spend much time teaching scientists how to use PowerLab,”
Dr. Kengatharan
Dr. Kengatharan’s fast-moving career has taken him to several prestigious institutions in the UK and the US including The William Harvey Research Institute (St Bartholomews Hospital) in London, Rhone Poulenc Rorer Pharmaceuticals (now part of Sanofi-Aventis), OxoN Medica Inc (South San Francisco) and Stanford University. Dr. Kengatharan has enjoyed many advantages offered by using PowerLab including the ability to perform fast analysis. “At one point I calculated that my team was ten times better-organized in performing data analysis than other colleagues who were using a different, commonly-used data recorder”, says Dr. Kengatharan.
Dr. Kengatharan first learned about MacLab systems (the predecessor to PowerLab systems) in 1993 when he was reviewing a range of electronic and paper data recorders for his in vivo pharmacological research. “I saw an advertisement for ADInstruments in the British Physiological Society Exhibitors Page. I called the telephone number, and the manager told me to jump in a taxi and come and see the data acquisition system for myself. I loved it immediately.”
After obtaining an ADInstruments MacLab system, Dr. Kengatharan enjoyed its time-saving benefits immediately. “The biggest advantage for us was that the MacLab systems let you perform many experiments at one time. All you had to do was increase the number of amplifiers. I was literally four times more efficient in recording data than the next guy who had a graph machine with two animals on it.”
PowerLab has continued to expedite Dr. Kengatharan’s workflow at the lab bench through efficient record keeping and fast analysis. “I like the fact that you can store all your data electronically. There is no need to create an auditing trail, because this is automatic. You can’t remove bits of information. What is really interesting is that you can really go into the detail of the actual blood pressure trace and perform complex analyses very quickly. You simply export data into a standard template in Excel and have all your answers in seconds. Very smart.”
Dr. Kengatharan has evaluated data acquisition systems manufactured by other companies including Ponemah, BIOPAC and Grass. “Other systems do not match PowerLab. It is a great product,” says Dr. Kengatharan.
About CoMentis
CoMentis, Inc. is headquartered in South San Francisco, with research operations in both South San Francisco and Oklahoma City. The company is engaged in the discovery and development of small-molecule drugs to treat Alzheimer’s disease, age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and cognitive disorders.
The company has two fundamental technology platforms: (i) aspartic protease inhibitors, including beta-secretase inhibitors for Alzheimer’s disease; and (ii) nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) agonists and antagonists for the treatment of angiogenesis mediated diseases and cognitive disorders.
CoMentis currently has three product development programs in its pipeline: ATG-3, a topical (eye drop) anti-angiogenesis compound for neovascular AMD in Phase II development; CTS-21166, an orally active beta-secretase inhibitor for Alzheimer’s disease in Phase I development; and GTS-21, an oral agonist of the alpha7 nACh receptor for ADHD in Phase II development, and a series of next generation agonists of the alpha7 nACh receptor in preclinical development.
About Dr. M. (Ken) Kengatharan, Ph.D., M.B.A.
Dr. Kengatharan is a co-founder of Athenagen, Inc (later re-named CoMentis, Inc) and he is currently responsible for identifying, evaluating and translating to product pipeline, new drug discovery & development opportunities from within CoMentis’s discovery platforms as well as from external organizations. In addition, he also heads CoMentis’s recently initiated inflammation program developing small molecule drugs targeting a novel anti-inflammatory pathway. Dr Kengatharan joined the company full time in 2005 as Vice-President of Pre-clinical Research and Development and was critical to the development from discovery stage to Phase II clinical trials, two products that target the angiogenesis pathway. He also set-up CoMentis's Pre-clinical Research operations in South San Francisco.
Dr Kengatharan was previously staff scientist in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at Stanford University where he continues his affiliation as a visiting scientist. Prior to joining Stanford, he was Director of Corporate Development and later Vice President of Pre-clinical R&D at OxoN Medica Inc, a South San Francisco based biotech firm where he spearheaded pre-clinical drug development as well as R&D operations.
Dr. Kengatharan obtained his Ph.D. in Pharmacology at the William Harvey Research Institute with Nobel laureate Sir John Vane. Thereafter, he held a post-doctoral position with Professor Erik Anggard (Director of the William Harvey Research Institute) as a recipient of the British Heart Foundation Fellowship, and supervised research and educational efforts in the section of vascular biology. The translational research that he directed included the development of animal models of cardiovascular disease for studies of the pathobiology of vascular alterations in sepsis, diabetes and atherosclerosis. Prior to his tenure at William Harvey Research Institute, he was an associate scientist at Rhône-Poulenc Rorer (now part of Sanofi-Aventis Pharmaceuticals) where he developed novel drug screening assays and bioinformatics programs. Dr Kengatharan is an author in several research articles and reviews in the area of vascular biology and inflammation and has been invited to present at local and international scientific meetings covering topics in angiogenesis, inflammation and ocular drug delivery. From 1999 to 2003, he spearheaded two entrepreneurial efforts that gave him managerial and fund-raising experience in the technology and biotech sectors.
Dr. Kengatharan received his Ph.D. from University of London (the William Harvey Research Institute) and M.B.A. (with Distinction) from Durham University in England. He is currently on the Advisory board of the Cardinal Free Clinics, a non-profit organization managing a network of medical clinics affiliated to the Stanford University School of Medicine providing healthcare to the under-insured and under-privileged individuals living in the San Francisco Bay area.