As a cutting edge provider of specialized and proprietary research services that help to shape and optimize the drug discovery process, NoAb BioDiscoveries is continuously developing new and innovative technologies and tools that accelerate the timelines and achieve success. These advanced research tools allow the better characterization of the pharmacokinetic properties of new drug candidates, optimizing the selection of viable candidates for further pre-clinical and clinical development. Services offered at the research facility located in the heart of one of North America's key biotech hubs include in vivo pharmacokinetic studies, in vitro ADME assays, bioanalysis and gene expression profiling. The gene expression profiling is performed using one of NoAb BioDiscoveries' innovative technologies, DTExâ"¢. DTExâ"¢ is a proprietary micro-array based technology that affords investigators the ability to survey the effects of drug treatment on the expression levels of genes involved in ADME pathways.
This gene expression profiling tool has been developed to establish whether gene expression patterns can be used as surrogate markers of adverse drug reactions or predictive markers of drug-drug interactions. DTExâ"¢ technology focuses on examining the effects of drug treatment on the pattern of gene expression in human cell lines and primary hepatocytes and helps to address important questions such as: "Which transporter genes are induced or suppressed by my compound?" and "Which cytochrome P450 genes are induced or suppressed by my compound?". The regulation of various phase I and II enzymes such as cytochrome P450 enzymes and phase III transporters has significant potential impact on the pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics and drug-drug interactions of many therapeutic agents and environmental xenobiotics. The induction of these enzymes is considered a liability in drug treatment and drug development and therefore it is vital to develop drugs that are not potential inducers of these enzymes in order to avoid potential adverse drug interactions.
Gene expression profiling using DTExâ"¢ micro-array technology allows investigators to simultaneously survey gene expression levels of 145 ADME associated enzymes that are involved in drug metabolism, conjugation or transport. This allows the interrogation of both reported and unreported drug effects on gene expression and because the DTExâ"¢ genes have also been selected as members of individual, drug-associated gene expression pathways, DTExâ"¢ technology additionally serves as both an internal control for the induction/suppression of the expression of these genes and as a measure of drug selectivity/specificity in the modulation of DTExâ"¢ gene expression. Gene expression profiling can be used to survey basal levels of gene expression in various cell lines, primary cells or tissues as a prelude to gene induction, inhibition or toxicity studies. It can also be used to survey the coordinated changes or to assess the selectivity of changes in the levels of gene expression in various cell lines, primary cells or tissues as a consequence of drug treatment. Details on these aspects are available at www.noabbiodiscoveries.com.
Pharmaceutical developers can supply total RNA for DTExâ"¢ gene expression profiling or the entire experiment can be conducted at the NoAb BioDiscoveries' research facility. Data received from the service includes all raw data files, normalized data files, color matrix plots, hierarchical cluster plots, fold induction tables and a data summary document. NoAb BioDiscoveries offers three different formats for gene expression profiling using DTExâ"¢ micro-array technology that include DTExâ"¢-ABC, DTExâ"¢-ADME and DTExâ"¢-custom. Use DTExâ"¢ technology throughout the drug discovery process from target validation to post-market studies to accelerate the drug discovery process, reduce cost and maximize success!
