SOLVO and MDS Pharma Services Team Up to Offer ABC Transporter Assays
14 Aprile 2004 - 9:30PM
PR Newswire (US)
SOLVO and MDS Pharma Services Team Up to Offer ABC Transporter
Assays MONTREAL, April 14 /PRNewswire/ -- MDS Pharma Services, a
leading provider of innovative drug discovery and development
solutions, is working with Hungarian-based SOLVO Biotechnology to
provide in vitro multidrug resistance (MDR) transporter assays for
screening and lead optimization, as well as preclinical absorption,
distribution, metabolism and excretion (ADME) studies.
"Transporters are an important, evolving area in the drug
metabolism arena and few contract research organizations offer this
capability," said Mark Reimer, Ph.D., Senior Director, Metabolism
Resource at MDS Pharma Services. "SOLVO's ATP Binding Cassette
(ABC) transporter protein assays complement our existing in vitro
metabolism services and are relevant to nearly all therapeutic
areas." The transport activities of ABC proteins have an important
effect in general pharmacology in modulating the absorption,
distribution and excretion of numerous drug compounds. The activity
of these proteins in membranes comprising the blood-brain barrier
and intestinal, kidney and liver epithelia, function as
pharmacological barriers, inhibiting the ability of certain drug
compounds to reach key organs in the body. "An extremely important
question in current pharmacological research is whether particular
drugs can cross these barriers," explained Arnold Feher, M.D.,
M.Sc., Director of Business Development at SOLVO Biotechnology.
"Since ABC-MDR transporters play a key role in these transport
processes, the interaction between pharmaceuticals and ABC-MDR
transporters is an essential piece of information for drug
targeting. Testing the interaction between compounds and various
ABC transporters may significantly help the understanding of these
phenomena." According to Dr. Reimer this is particularly helpful
with cancer therapeutics, as many tumor cells over-express these
transporter proteins. Treatment failure due to MDR is also found in
connection with other conditions, including such therapeutic areas
as central nervous system (CNS) disorders, rheumatoid arthritis and
other autoimmune diseases, as well as HIV and several other
infectious diseases. Dr. Feher added that in vitro ABC-MDR
transporter assays have multiple uses in screening and lead
optimization for drug development, including: * Detecting the
interaction of drug candidates with a wide variety of ABC
transporter proteins, including MDR1, MRPs and MXR; * Testing the
target binding of MDR modulators; * Predicting penetration of drug
candidates through pharmacological barriers; * Predicting
penetration of intracellularly active cytostatics through the
membranes of tumor cells. SOLVO Biotechnology, Inc. is an
early-stage biopharmaceutical company active in the field of
ABC-transporters and Drug Resistance that holds patents related to
drug targets and modulators, gene therapy applications as well as
functional aspects of pharmacogenetics/pharmacogenomics. With close
to a dozen human and rat ABC transporters and two-dozen different
assays on its portfolio, SOLVO is a market leader in the relevant
segment of in vitro ADME screening. Its MDQ kit for hematological
malignancies and the recently developed version for solid tumor
testing also position the company as a leader in the field of MDR
diagnostics. Its dynamic, professional scientific and business
personnel enable SOLVO to make a move towards involvement in
discovery and/or the development of other cancer related products.
To find out more about the company's activities please visit
http://www.solvobiotech.com/ MDS Pharma Services offers a full
spectrum of resources to meet the drug discovery and development
needs of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. With
numerous facilities strategically located around the world, the
company applies advanced scientific and technological expertise to
each stage of the drug discovery and development process -- early
stage: lead optimization, pre-IND research and development, early
clinical research (bioequivalence, phases I-IIa) and bioanalysis;
and late stage: global clinical development (phases IIb-IV) and
central lab. For more information, visit MDS Pharma Services' Web
site at http://www.mdsps.com/. MDS Pharma Services is part of MDS
Inc. (NYSE: MDZ; TSX: MDS), an international health and life
sciences company. At MDS Inc., our 10,000 highly skilled people
provide services, products and instruments enabling health sciences
organizations to enhance the well being of people around the world.
We focus on helping discover and test new drugs, assisting doctors
to diagnose and treat patients and preventing the spread of
disease. Find out more about MDS Inc. at http://www.mdsintl.com/ or
by calling 1-888-MDS-7222, 24 hours a day. DATASOURCE: MDS Pharma
Services CONTACT: Kevin Langin of MDS Pharma Services,
+1-402-476-2811 Web site: http://www.mdsps.com/
http://www.mdsintl.com/ http://www.solvobiotech.com/
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