RainDance and Ambry Genetics to address ADME analysis
Will develop ADME screening panel for use on next-generation sequencing systems
RainDance Technologies and Ambry Genetics are to develop a drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) genetic screening panel for use on next-generation sequencing (NGS) systems. Financial terms have not been disclosed.
ADME analysis provides data on how a compound reaches the bloodstream and whether distribution, metabolism and excretion are affected by factors such as age, sex, ethnicity or genetics. In recent years, the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries have been performing ADME screening earlier as they aim to reduce the costs associated with failed drug trials and hospitalisations due to adverse events.
RainDance Technologies, based in Lexington, Massachusetts, US, says current genotyping tools for ADME research lack the genetic sensitivity, genomic coverage, and resolution necessary to detect many of the important mutations associated with adverse drug events.
The new ADME panel developed by RainDance and Ambry of Aliso Viejo, California, will enable scientists to perform sequence analysis of coding regions associated with more than 220 key drug metabolism-linked genes.
‘Scientists interested in analysing ADME-linked genes can now look far beyond what existing genotyping panels reveal and discover the novel chromosomal changes and rare variants associated with drug metabolism and molecular pharmacology,’ said Darren Link, co-founder and vice president of research and development at RainDance Technologies.
