Billerica, MA and Dundee, UK, March 13, 2009-- Millipore Corporation (Billerica, MA) and CXR Biosciences® (Dundee, UK) today launched ToxReporter™, a new panel of engineered cell lines and assays that can screen compounds for toxicity early in the drug discovery process.
Toxicity is one of the primary reasons why potential drug candidates fail during development.1,2 Identifying potential toxicity issues early in the drug discovery process can save time and money that would otherwise have been wasted on continued compound development.
The ToxReporter panel detects a variety of cellular responses linked to toxic stresses, including:
> Oxidative stress and anti-oxidant response
> Inflammatory response
> Cell cycle control
> DNA damage and apoptosis
> Hypoxia/angiogenesis
> Stress responses
“ToxReporter assays provide researchers with a great deal of flexibility,” said Debra MacIvor, Product Manager for Biomarkers and Immunoassays at Millipore. “Researchers can test multiple compounds or multiple cell lines using a single ELISA. In addition, the assays are quantitative and can be performed at multiple time points.”
“Development of the ToxReporter assays demonstrates CXR’s ability to develop novel screens that generate informative safety-relevant data earlier in the drug development process,” said Tom Shepherd, CEO of CXR Biosciences. “They are also used here at CXR to conduct Investigative and Mechanistic Toxicology projects with our clients.”
CXR Biosciences developed the novel cell lines exclusively for Millipore as part of a portfolio of innovative in vitro cell-based toxicology assays. Each cell line has been stably transfected with a common reporter biomarker downstream of response element promoters involved in specific toxicology pathways. The biomarker is expressed by the cells if the specific toxicology pathway is induced and detected in cell culture supernatant using a simple enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).
The ToxReporter product line includes an engineered biomarker cell line, an assay Starter Pack specific for each cell line, and a complete ELISA kit that can be used for each cell line. Additional ToxReporter cell lines are under development, as well as a multiplexed format.
About Millipore
Millipore (NYSE: MIL) is a Life Science leader providing cutting-edge technologies, tools, and services for bioscience research and biopharmaceutical manufacturing. As a strategic partner, we collaborate with customers to confront the world’s challenging human health issues. From research to development to production, our scientific expertise and innovative solutions help customers tackle their most complex problems and achieve their goals. Millipore Corporation is an S&P 500 company with more than 5,900 employees worldwide. For more information, please contact Millipore Tech Service at 1-800-548-7853 or 951-676-8080 or visit www.millipore.com.
About CXR Biosciences
CXR Biosciences Ltd. is advancing and commercializing innovative approaches to transform the drug development and chemical safety assessment process. As well as introducing new technology platforms to the marketplace, CXR also helps customers to take their candidate compounds through development efficiently, or to resolve problems that have been encountered, through the provision of customized solutions. The company has business relationships with over sixty customers and collaborators, including pharmaceutical companies, chemical companies, biotechnology companies, leading universities and research institutions. CXR Biosciences Ltd. is located in Dundee, Scotland. More information can be found at www.cxrbiosciences.com.
Millipore is a registered trademark of Millipore Corporation and the “M” logo and ToxReporter are trademarks of Millipore Corporation.
CXR Biosciences is a registered trademark of CXR Biosciences Ltd.
