Motif BioSciences Inc. (“Motif”) is a population genetics company seeking to identify the genetic causes of major diseases by working with a unique, rich, and defensible source of human genetic data from the Gulf states.

Motif is based on the scientific premise that the unique characteristics of Gulf “Founder Populations” and the use of proprietary genomic data mining tools will lead to the discovery of GeneMotifs.™ These GeneMotifs™ will add pharmaceutically significant value downstream in the drug development process, generating licensing revenues, research & development partnerships, and promoting the development of genetic-based diagnostics and medicine.  GeneMotifs™  are those key interacting genes directly involved in disease-causing biochemical processes or drug response pathways and are more easily found in Founder Populations.  Founder Populations are modern groups that descend from a few individuals who long ago left one area to settle another for political, religious, or socio-economic reasons – such as Iceland, and the Gulf – and who did not thereafter significantly inter-marry outside that population.

After a decade in which pharma R&D spending has doubled to over $60 billion while the number of new drugs has fallen by half, the industry is aggressively seeking new validated drug targets as a top business priority. With the types of genomics-driven discovery carried out by Motif, these predictable and efficient ways of identifying drug targets have gained mainstream acceptance.  In a $400 billion market, pharma’s top 200 best-selling drugs target only 47 of an estimated 5,000 pharmaceutically relevant genes.  Motif will participate in a growing market, seeking much-needed solutions to pharma’s dwindling product pipeline and falling R&D productivity.

Motif has recruited a world-class Scientific Advisory Board and Board of Directors (including Directors of major pharmaceutical firms), hired an internationally-recognized Chief Scientific Officer, incorporated a US operation with experienced management, established a formal presence in the Gulf, validated regional founder populations, and is currently finalizing the location of its initial bio-sample collection efforts in that region.