GEN Reports On The Trend Toward Predictive Toxicogenomics

Main Category: Pharma Industry / Biotech Industry
Also Included In: Genetics
Article Date: 20 Nov 2008 - 0:00 PST

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Biotech scientists increasingly are applying genomics technologies to toxicology research to better understand the effects of novel drug candidates on a variety of organ systems, reports Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN). They are especially interested in figuring out a new compound's mechanism of action and eventually developing a predictive toxicology technique, according to the November 15 issue of GEN.

"Toxicogenomics, which is essentially gene-expression profiling, is the next step up from basic toxicology studies," says John Sterling, Editor-in-Chief of GEN. "It is a more complex approach, and it will take some time before it becomes a regular tool in the technology armentarium of drug discovery and pharmaceutical scientists."

So far most companies are focusing on toxicogenomics primarily as a method to explore mechanisms of action rather than to predict toxicity. Roche, for example, uses toxicogenomics to generate hypotheses when trying to unravel the cellular machinery underlying toxicity responses, which then are tested more thoroughly using other assays. Novartis is employing known toxic compounds to develop the techniques to understand the mechanistic actions of toxicity. Such screening led to the recent validation of biomarkers for kidney toxicity.

Groups such as The C-Path Predictive Safety Testing Consortium are examining published toxicogenomics multiple gene biomarkers or signatures and trying to validate those signatures across laboratories.

Also covered in the GEN article is work being carried out by Amgen, Entelos, Lilly Research Laboratories, Hamner Institutes for Health Sciences, and the Health and Environmental Sciences Institute.

Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (http://www.genengnews.com), which is published 21 times a year by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. (http://www.liebertpub.com), is the most widely read biotechnology news magazine worldwide. It includes articles on Drug Discovery, Bioprocessing, OMICS, Biobusiness, and Clinical Research and Diagnostics.

Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News
http://www.genengnews.com