Incyte Given Exclusive Access to Liver Cell Line by Amphioxus
C3A is a unique cloned liver cell line that simulates normal human liver responses to stimuli, including drugs and stress. These responses include the expression of human liver enzymes involved in drug metabolism, such as cytochrome P450s, as well as other genes involved in liver function such as cell growth and energy utilization. Every cell in the C3A population is genetically identical, allowing scientists to duplicate experiments, which is essential in creating gene expression databases. Using C3A cells, which are stored in a Master Cell Bank, scientists can screen for drug metabolism and toxicity by measuring gene expression.
"Understanding the molecular effects of drugs on the liver system is a key goal within our LifeExpress expression program," said Randy Scott, president and chief scientific officer of Incyte. "The unique properties of the C3A cell line make it an excellent system for studying drug toxicology. The Master Cell Bank that Amphioxus has created will aid us in the creation of expression information because it will allow us to easily replicate experiments and consistently produce reliable results."
This collaboration will allow researchers to examine the molecular basis of drug metabolism and toxicity. They will then be able to design better compounds and test them in cell culture before they are tried in people. In addition, the combination of the Amphioxus cell line and the Incyte database will help confirm new drug targets in areas like diabetes, obesity, lipid metabolism, and cancer.
Incyte's LifeExpress, the first commercially available gene expression database to combine both gene and protein expression data, provides researchers with the tools for understanding gene function in disease and drug metabolism. The LifeExpress product suite consists of two databases. The TargetExpress database aids researchers in target discovery, helping them to identify potential drug targets while the LeadExpress database enables researchers to optimize the best drug candidates for development.
Amphioxus Cell Technologies, Inc. is a leader in the field of liver biology with interests ranging from basic liver biology to drug disposition, viral hepatitis, plasma proteins, and liver support. Amphioxus has developed a drug discovery platform, ACTIVTox, based on a proprietary human liver cell line which faithfully reproduces normal hepatocyte function. ACTIVTox provides a unified human liver system that is useful in drug discovery, potency ranking, toxicity testing, and metabolic profiling, all in the same basic assay.
Incyte Pharmaceuticals Inc. is a provider of an integrated platform of genomic technologies designed to aid in the understanding of the molecular basis of disease. Incyte develops and markets genomic databases, genomic data management software, microarray-based gene expression services, and related reagents and services. These products and services assist pharmaceutical and biotechnology researchers with all phases of drug discovery and development
For more information: Randall Scott, CEO, Incyte Pharmaceuticals, 3174 Porter Dr., Palo Alto, CA 94304. Tel: 650-855-0555. Fax: 650-855-0572. Or: Jim Kelly, President, Amphioxus Cell Technologies Inc., 11222 Richmond Ave., Suite 180, Houston, TX 77082-2646. Tel: 281-679-7900. Fax: 281-679-7910.