Iconix Biosciences Releases On-Line Version of World’s Largest Toxicogenomic Reference Database

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Aug. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Iconix Biosciences, Inc. today announced the introduction and sale of the first license to DrugMatrix Online 1.0. This unique product provides web-based access to a full-featured version of the Iconix flagship product, DrugMatrix(R).

With the release of DrugMatrix Online, the extensive Iconix DrugMatrix database content and customized tools are now readily available to a much broader group of customers, including medium-sized pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Researchers can access DrugMatrix Online from any location using only a personal computer running Windows and Internet Explorer. Online DrugMatrix allows licensed users to securely upload Affymetrix gene expression data from the Rat 230 2.0, RAE230A or RGU34A GeneChips(R) and obtain Drug Signature(R) similarity scoring as well as extensive comparative data from the world’s largest collection of reference information on rats treated with over 500 reference drugs and toxicants.

DrugMatrix Online contains data from 8 different tissues of rats treated with marketed drugs, withdrawn and failed compounds and biochemical and toxicological standards. In Release 1.0, 535 compounds have been profiled by microarray gene expression. Each of the 535 compounds profiled by microarray gene expression is also profiled in a suite of 127 pharmacological assays and is associated with detailed compound curation. Each of the microarray experiments in the database is a biological triplicate and is associated with clinical chemistry, hematology, and organ histopathology data of the treated animal. The assembled chemogenomic profiles on each benchmark molecule are made available in an integrated informatics system that allows candidate compounds to be compared, analyzed and prioritized using sophisticated bio- and chemoinformatics tools, including 135 manually curated DrugMatrix pathways.

“With the release of DrugMatrix Online, Iconix is making toxicogenomics analysis readily accessible to all sizes of pharmaceutical and biotechnology organizations,” said Don Halbert, Ph.D., Executive VP of R&D at Iconix.

“Using DrugMatrix Online, researchers can analyze their candidate compounds against the largest reference database of its kind in the world in order to predict toxicological liabilities and better understand mechanisms of toxicity and efficacy. This cutting-edge product is a major milestone toward the improved safety screening of drugs in the early stages of development.”

About Iconix:

Iconix Biosciences, Inc. is pioneering the field of toxicogenomics, the integration of chemistry and genomics to profile drug candidates. Iconix’ products and services enable pharmaceutical companies to increase the odds of advancing the right compounds to the clinic, reducing attrition rates and the costs of drug discovery. Iconix provides reference systems, products and world-class expertise to predict toxic liabilities, side effects and mechanisms of drug candidates. The company has collaborations with Bristol Myers Squibb, Abbott Laboratories, ICOS, Eli Lilly, Schering-Plough , AstraZeneca, Taisho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Eisai Co., Ltd. and other leading companies. Iconix has provided access to the Drugmatrix database, as well as research, training and support to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) under an agreement to advance CDER’s study of the application of genomic technologies in the regulatory approval process. Iconix is a contributing member of the C-Path Institute Predictive Safety Testing Consortium. The company has a strategic partnership with Affymetrix (http://www.ToxFx.com).

Headquartered in Mountain View, California, Iconix was founded in 1998 and is privately held. For more information, visit http://www.iconixbiosciences.com.

NOTE: Affymetrix and GeneChip are registered trademarks owned or used by Affymetrix Inc.

Iconix Biosciences, Inc.

CONTACT: Media, Jennifer Larson Public Relations, +1-415-409-2729,jlarson@labfive.com for Iconix Biosciences, Inc.; or Alan Roter, Ph.D., VPInformatics of Iconix Biosciences, Inc., +1-650-567-5510,aroter@iconixbiosciences.com

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