Canadian and British researchers will work on a $95-million research project to map hundreds of human proteins to develop new treatments for disease.

The University of Toronto is set to launch the large health research project in conjunction with a major pharmaceutical company.

Biologists now know almost the complete sequence to the human genome. Much of the DNA forms the blueprint for proteins that keep us healthy and make us sick.

In comparison, scientists have figured out about a quarter of the proteins. Knowing more about the shape of proteins will help researchers create drugs to control them, and aid in treating a wide range of diseases including cancer.

"Proteins have these little grooves and channels," said microbiologist Aled Edwards of U of T. "So if you want to stop a protein from working, what you've got to do is get a little chemical to fit in there like a stick in an alligator's mouth.

"That doesn't let the jaws close and the chemical reaction occur, and lots of times that's how one wants to treat a disease."

Edwards is the director of the new Structural Genomics Consortium, based at Oxford and U of T. The consortium will spend $95 million over three years to add 350 proteins to the list of known ones.

British-based GlaxoSmithKline, which controls seven per cent of the world's pharmaceutical market, has pitched in almost a 10th of the budget.

Spokesman Rick Koenig said despite the company's interest in creating lucrative new drugs, newly discovered protein structures will be made public. He said by pooling resources, science will advance faster.