SOLVO and MDS Pharma Services team up

Canadian drug discovery and development solutions company MDS Pharma Services is working with Hungarian early-stage biopharma company SOLVO Biotechnology to provide in vitro multidrug resistance (MDR) transporter assays for screening and lead optimisation, as well as ADME studies.

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 important question in current pharmacological research is whether particular drugs can cross these barriers,' explained Dr Arnold Feher, 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.'

According to Dr Mark Reimer, senior director, metabolism resource at MDS Pharma Services, 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.

'Transporters are an important, evolving area in the drug metabolism arena and few contract research organisations offer this capability,' said Reimer 'SOLVO's ATP Binding Cassette (ABC) transporter protein assays complement our existing in vitro metabolism services and are relevant to nearly all therapeutic areas.'

Feher added that in vitro ABC-MDR transporter assays have multiple uses in screening and lead optimisation for drug development, including: detecting the interaction of drug candidates with a wide variety of ABC transporter proteins; testing the target binding of MDR modulators; predicting penetration of drug candidates through pharmacological barriers; and predicting penetration of intracellularly active cytostatics through the membranes of tumour cells.