Optivia Biotechnology and The Sugiyama Laboratory/RIKEN Sign Collaborative Agreement
Menlo Park, CA and Yokahama, Japan (PRWEB) October 07, 2015 -- Optivia Biotechnology and the Sugiyama Lab at RIKEN have entered into a collaborative agreement to develop a dynamic, multi-scale, physiologically based pharmacokinetic (dmPBPK) modeling platform for predicting transporter mediated drug-drug interactions (DDIs).
Optivia and the Sugiyama Lab will combine their respective expertise in in vitro transporter assay technology and modeling methods with the goal of developing a new model to accurately predict complex drug clearance and DDIs mediated by multiple active transport and metabolism pathways. As a first step, Optivia’s proprietary in vitro transporter assay platform will be used by both groups to study active drug transport in well-defined single and multiple-transporter expressing cellular models. Optivia will then further develop computational models of drug clearance and DDI at the cellular level, an endeavor partially funded by a recent SBIR grant from NIH/NIGMS. These mechanistic cellular disposition models will then be integrated with PBPK/Extended Clearance Concept based models developed by Sugiyama Laboratory. In the final phase of the project, both groups will validate this intergated approach for its ability to predict the clinical PK properties and DDIs of diverse drugs without the use of empirical, drug-dependent scaling factors.
Yuichi Sugiyama, Ph.D., the head of Sugiyama Lab at RIKEN and a world-renowned expert on transporter research and PBPK modeling, noted that “Our rapidly evolving knowledge of transporters and mathematical model based prediction is giving us the opportunity to increase the efficiency of drug development and make adverse drug reactions more predictable and manageable. Our collaboration with Optivia will lead to the creation of a comprehensive set of in vitro and in silico tools that can improve the predictability of transporter-mediated drug interactions, individual variabilities in drug response, and adverse reactions to drugs.”
Yong Huang, Ph.D., Optivia’s president and CEO, expressed his enthusiasm about the collaboration. “We are very pleased to have this opportunity to work with Dr. Sugiyama’s group. By combining PBPK modeling expertise, state-of-art in vitro assay technology, and mechanism-based cellular disposition models, we are confident that we will be able to improve the understanding and predictability of transporter-mediated drug clearance and associated DDIs.”
About Optivia Biotechnology Inc.
Since bringing the first full panel of FDA- and EMA- compliant transporter drug-drug interaction (DDI) assays to market, Optivia has been the leading provider of high-quality transporter assay services. Optivia is a thought leader in expanding the utility of transporter research in areas as diverse as pharmacokinetics, toxicology, therapeutic target discovery, and basic biology research. With the world’s largest portfolio of transporter assays, novel multi-transporter models, and customized molecular transport research solutions, Optivia is committed to understanding the complex drug transport processes for improving drug safety and efficacy. For more information, visit http://www.optiviabio.com
About Sugiyama Laboratory at RIKEN
RIKEN is Japan's largest comprehensive research institution renowned for high-quality research in a diverse range of scientific disciplines. In 2012, RIKEN established The Sugiyama Laboratory at RIKEN Innovation Center in Yokahama, Japan, to promote integrated approach and support system for efficient drug discovery. The laboratory is headed by Dr. Yuichi Sugiyama, who is the world’s most cited scientist in the field of pharmacology and toxicology for many years. His research aims to help the development of drugs with wider therapeutic ranges that are less affected by drug-drug interactions, inter-individual variation, and disease states.
Dawn Stricker, Optivia Biotechnology Inc, http://www.optiviabio.com, +1 +1 619 213 3823, [email protected]
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