Trega Announces Completion of Development Of The IDEA Simulation System for Drug Absorption
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SAN DIEGO, Dec. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Trega Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: TRGA) today announced the successful achievement of the final consortium milestone in the development of the absorption module of its IDEA(TM) (In Vitro Determination for the Estimation of ADME) simulation system. IDEA is now being commercially introduced to potential customers.
IDEA is a quantitative, predictive system under development by Trega as part of its iDiscovery(TM) technology to facilitate the rapid screening of compounds for ADME (absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion) characteristics. It is a physiologically based model of oral drug absorption and the first module enables the prediction of human in vivo drug absorption from in vitro data. The value of this system is its early use in the discovery process to evaluate compounds for their behavior in humans, without the time and cost of traditional animal-based methods, and as an aid in the selection of drug candidates for clinical development.
This first module of IDEA was developed in collaboration with a consortium of prominent pharmaceutical companies including SmithKline Beecham, Genentech, Warner-Lambert and Schering-Plough. The module utilizes a unique proprietary database of human and in vitro data from a diverse set of clinically tested compounds with a broad range of physicochemical and in vivo performance. The data set includes both marketed drugs and compounds which have been tested in humans but failed to become drug products.
The final milestone in the consortium development effort focused on the evaluation of the predictive capability of IDEA and represents a unique effort to measure such predictive capability of a simulation model for ADME. IDEA exceeded the performance requirements set out by the consortium. Subsequently, data produced from the absorption module of IDEA will serve as inputs for the metabolism module currently in development.
"The completion of the first module of IDEA creates an exciting commercial opportunity for Trega," said Michael G. Grey, president & CEO of Trega. "The introduction of IDEA is also a key milestone in the development of Trega's iDiscovery strategy. The synergy of IDEA with Chem.Folio(TM) and our expanding distribution channels, such as ChemNavigator.com, are broadening Trega's business as a critical supplier of information technologies to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry. We expect the revenues from the absorption module will become a significant part of Trega's business in the coming year. This is the first of a series of ADME simulation systems which Trega plans to develop and commercialize in the near future."
"Trega is addressing the ADME bottleneck, which is a major challenge in drug discovery," said George M. Grass, Ph.D., president of Trega's NaviCyte subsidiary. "Our predictive technology is unique in the pharmaceutical industry, and enables the characterization of compound performance in humans early in the discovery process. Early characterization of ADME will accelerate drug discovery and facilitate the selection of drug candidates with the greatest chance of success in development. It will also help to identify compounds which should not be taken forward as clinical candidates."
"Trega has demonstrated that this model can accurately predict the absorption of compounds in the body," continued Dr. Grass. "The successful development of this module of IDEA is due to the interaction of the consortium members and Trega scientists. The creation of this unique and proprietary database, in combination with the modeling techniques developed and utilized at Trega, have created a very valuable drug discovery tool. We are continuing to utilize this approach to expand our simulation capabilities in other ADME areas."
Trega Biosciences is an information-driven technology company focused on accelerating the process of drug discovery from target identification to qualification of clinical candidates by using small molecule combinatorial chemistry, high throughput screening and predictive bioinformatics to rapidly create novel drug candidates having greater chances of clinical success. In combination with its wholly owned subsidiary, NaviCyte, Trega offers integrated products and services spanning the drug discovery process -- beginning with synthesis of novel compounds to delivering uniquely qualified drug leads -- to the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industries. Trega also uses its drug discovery technologies in internal development programs, which are focused on discovering small molecules acting on melanocortin receptors for the treatment of inflammatory and metabolic diseases.
Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this news release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including whether the Company's resources are sufficient to enable it to reach its objectives as described above, whether the IDEA(TM) software will be successfully completed, operated or commercialized, whether any research to be conducted as described will be successful, any additional collaborations, alliances, or consortia will be agreed to, formed or expanded, whether regulatory approvals can be obtained for products so discovered and developed, if any, whether any such products can be successfully marketed, the impact of competitive products and pricing, in marketing success, whether any other corporate collaborations or alliances will be successful, and other risks detailed from time to time in Trega's Securities and Exchange Commission filings. These forward-looking statements represent Trega's judgment as of the date of this release. Actual results may differ materially from those projected. Trega disclaims, however, any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
Trega's releases are on the World Wide Web at trega.com and PR Newswire's fax-on-demand service at 1-800-758-5804, extension 374050.
SOURCE Trega Biosciences, Inc.
CO: Trega Biosciences, Inc.
ST: California
IN: MTC
SU: PDT
12/16/1999 08:00 EST prnewswire.com |
