SAN DIEGO, March 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Today at the Society of Toxicology Annual Meeting, Iconix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced a major extension of its DrugMatrix(R) toxicogenomic database to include a large addition of data generated by the Affymetrix GeneChip(R) platform. The two companies recently signed a collaborative agreement to develop solutions to aid in the study of the toxicological and pharmacological properties of drugs and drug candidates. The extension of the DrugMatrix database is a key step in this collaboration and will further researchers’ ability to effectively prioritize drug candidates and to make decisions earlier in the drug development process.
“The addition of whole genome toxicology information from experiments run on the Affymetrix platform is a major milestone in advancing development of new solutions that will aid in the safety screening of candidate compounds,” said Don Halbert, Ph.D., executive vice president of Research and Development at Iconix Pharmaceuticals. “Equally important, by extending DrugMatrix to include the Affymetrix platform, we are greatly expanding the accessibility and utility of the database.”
“We are pleased that Iconix has chosen to add whole genome array data generated by our GeneChip microarray platform to its DrugMatrix database,” said Lianne McLean, senior director, Gene Expression Marketing at Affymetrix. “This information will accelerate toxicogenomic research by helping scientists prioritize compounds at the earliest possible stages.”
The DrugMatrix expansion adds data for hundreds of compound treatments in liver, kidney, heart and cultured primary rat hepatocytes. The database now includes data generated by the Affymetrix GeneChip RG-230 2.0 Array, which is the first whole genome array to interrogate more than 30,000 transcripts and variants from the rat genome, including more than 28,000 well substantiated rat genes.
About Iconix:
Iconix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is pioneering the new field of chemogenomics, the integration of chemistry and genomics to profile drug candidates. Iconix’ chemogenomic capabilities 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 and know-how 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 also provides 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’ DrugMatrix system has been installed at the FDA for use by CDER scientists and reviewers in a diverse range of chemogenomics applications. The company also has strategic partnerships with leading life sciences companies including Affymetrix, MDS Pharma Services and GE Healthcare.
Headquartered in Mountain View, California, Iconix was founded in 1998 and is privately held. For more information, visit www.iconixpharm.com.
About Affymetrix:
Affymetrix scientists invented the world’s first microarray in 1989 and began selling the first commercial microarray in 1994. Since then, Affymetrix GeneChip(R) technology has become the industry standard in molecular biology research. Affymetrix technology is used by the world’s top pharmaceutical, diagnostic and biotechnology companies as well as leading academic, government and not-for-profit research institutes. More than 1,300 GeneChip systems have been shipped around the world and more than 4,000 peer-reviewed papers have been published using the technology. Affymetrix’ patented photolithographic manufacturing process provides the highest information capacity available today on an array, enabling researchers to use a whole genome approach to analyze the relationship between genetics and health. Affymetrix is headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif., with manufacturing facilities in Sacramento, Calif., and Bedford, Mass. The company maintains important sales and marketing operations in Europe and Asia and has about 1,000 employees worldwide. For more information about Affymetrix, please visit the company’s website at www.affymetrix.com.
NOTE: Affymetrix, the Affymetrix logo, and GeneChip are registered trademarks owned or used by Affymetrix Inc.
Contact: Alan Engelberg, Vice President, Marketing of Iconix Pharmaceuticals Inc., +1-650-567-5527, or aengelberg@iconixpharm.com; or Jennifer Larson, +1-415-409-2729, or jlarson@labfive.com, for Iconix.
Iconix Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
CONTACT: Alan Engelberg, Vice President, Marketing of IconixPharmaceuticals Inc., +1-650-567-5527, or aengelberg@iconixpharm.com; orJennifer Larson, +1-415-409-2729, or jlarson@labfive.com, for Iconix
Web site: http://www.iconixpharm.com//
