New Combined Cell Line and Assay Systems for Complete Solution for Drug Developers

Puracyp Inc. and Promega Corporation have collaborated to provide all-inclusive kits to assess nuclear receptor activation, P450 metabolism, and cellular toxicity during the drug development process. These whole cell assay systems will identify compounds capable of activating nuclear receptors and inducing P450 metabolism while monitoring for cellular toxicity. The assay kits contain components that have been designed and tested to work together in comprehensive user protocols.

The product line includes DPX2™ cells (human PXR), rPXR cells (rodent PXR), MkB3 cells (monkey PXR) and 1A2-DRE cells (human AhR). These cell-based assay systems and those under development (human CAR), are amenable to multiplexing whereby the investigator can assess activation, metabolism, and toxicity in a single well of a 96-well or 384-well plate. Currently, Puracyp's DPX2™ stable cell line is the gold standard for assessing PXR activation by NCEs, and is utilized by many leading drug developers to provide pivotal information for predicting human drug-drug interactions.

"These kits will allow scientists to answer critical questions about nuclear receptor activation and oxidative drug metabolism", said Dr. Jerome Lasker, Director of Laboratory Operations for Puracyp. Puracyp CEO Mark Dale added, "Nuclear receptor activation and metabolism can be determined in a highly cost-effective manner using Puracyp's kits." Thomas Livelli, Promega Vice President of Life Sciences Products and Services, commented, "We believe this new offering will be extremely helpful to scientists and provide high value cell-based systems for discovery and development."