IonGate Biosciences GmbH has announced their participation in a publicly funded initiative with the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). The QuantPro initiative involves quantitative analysis that facilitates the description of dynamic processes in living systems. QuantPro funds projects that take the currently static and systematic description of cellular components to the next stage: the analysis of dynamic processes on the molecular scale.
The specific project which IonGate and its partners will participate in during a three-year period: Quantitative modeling of functional and genetic variability of hepatobiliary transport (QuantLiver) will provide a better understanding of liver transporters to predict how drugs and their metabolites are taken up, modulated and excreted.
Hepatobiliary transport is one of the crucial systems responsible for the elimination of drugs and their metabolites. There is a strong interest from the pharmaceutical industry to assess this biological mechanism in a quantitative way in order to evaluate the elimination and safety profile of compounds in pre-clinical development.
The aim of the QuantLiver project is the development and proof of concept for an integrated set of tools for the quantitative modeling of hepatobiliary transport of natural and pharmacological substances under inclusion of the genetic variability of the transport system.
IonGate has developed a proprietary technology platform (SURFE2R) for the investigation of transporter proteins. The validated technology enables direct functional characterization of electrically active membrane proteins, abolishing the need to use fluorescent dyes or radioactive markers. The new technology differentiates itself from conventional methods by a drastic increase in the achievable throughput and higher sensitivity. Furthermore, it provides the possibility to investigate transporter targets with a truly functional assay in HTS for the first time.
"We are delighted to participate in this competence network which brings functional, bioinformatic and genomic expertise together to create a unique toolset for rapid preclinical screening of pharmacological compounds", explained Dr. Thiemo Gropp, CEO of IonGate. "Ultimately, this toolset will speed up the drug development process and increase drug safety by reducing and predicting side effects."
"The SURFE2R assays to be developed will for the first time enable a quantitative pre-clinical assessment of hepatobiliary excretion of compounds of interest for the major transport systems in a high-throughput fashion", added Dr. Béla Kelety, head of R&D at IonGate.
During a three-year period, IonGate will coordinate the QuantPro project together with three partners: Bayer Technology Services, Cell Culture Service GmbH and the University of Kiel. IonGate, the leading applicant of the project, has a proven track record of successful participation in BMBF-funded research and will take a lead role in the project.