Biomarkers Linked to Toxicity Identified

Predictive biomarkers comprised of key genes and protein targets associated with toxicity and pathology have been identified by Iconix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Mountain View, CA, USA), using its chemogenomics prediction system.

These biomarkers, called Drug Signatures, form the basis for predictive models of toxicity that can assist drug discovery scientists in the early screening and prioritization of lead compounds and drug candidates for later development. The Drug Signatures are part of a larger program at Iconix to understand the chemogenomic basis for drug mechanism, pharmacology, and toxicity. The company has focused on toxigenomics as a foundation for predicting human toxicity in compounds at the research stage.

"Among the greatest costs in drug development are those associated with compounds that looked promising early on but failed for toxicity reasons in the more advanced and expensive stages of preclinical and clinical development,” said Jim Neal, CEO of Iconix. "Our success developing predictive Drug Signatures shows that the historical constant of high failure rates in modern drug discovery can be addressed for the first time, and is a striking indication of how much the pharmaceutical industry will advance in the coming years.”




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