-- Data shows metabolomics is powerful tool for predicting liver injury --
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., March 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Paradigm
Genetics, Inc. (Nasdaq: PDGM), a biotechnology company, today announced it
will present results from metabolomics analyses undertaken as part of its
biomarker research collaboration with the National Institute of Environmental
Health Sciences (NIEHS), National Institutes of Health (NIH), at the 43rd
Annual Meeting of the Society of Toxicology. The in-life studies were
conducted under NIEHS Contract No. NO1-ES-65406 by Battelle for the study of
acetaminophen toxicity in liver. The metabolomics data demonstrate that
biochemical profiling is a powerful tool for generating biomarkers useful in
monitoring and diagnosing liver injury, and will help to reveal the
biochemical mechanisms involved in toxicity. Acetaminophen overdose remains
the leading cause of hospital admissions for acute liver toxicity in the U.S.
The biomarker collaboration between Paradigm Genetics and the NIEHS to
study the mechanism of acetaminophen toxicity in liver began in June 2003. The
research is focused on identifying better diagnostics for assessing liver
damage and individual patient response to therapeutic treatment.
"Currently, the diagnosis of liver damage, based on traditional serum
markers, may not be early enough or reliable enough to make medical decisions
in the absence of additional clinical testing. The challenge is to identify
more sensitive biomarkers in serum and urine that signal liver function and
the mechanisms underlying liver injury at an earlier time in the disease
process, thereby allowing physicians to explore more and better treatment
opportunities," said Tom Colatsky, Ph.D., Vice President, Healthcare Research
for Paradigm Genetics. "Our research has shown that biochemical signals can
provide these types of early, more sensitive indicators of liver injury and
toxicity."
Separately, the company announced that it is co-sponsoring with Agilent
Technologies a workshop titled "Advancing Toxicity Assessment through
Microarray Gene Expression Analysis." The workshop, which is scheduled for
Monday, March 22, at 3:45 p.m., will include discussions on visualizing
chemical effects through gene expression, integration of traditional
toxicology parameters with gene expression measurements, and pathways for
neurotoxicity.
The relationship between Paradigm Genetics and the NIEHS also includes a
five-year toxicogenomics contract for $23.8 million with the National Center
for Toxicogenomics. The contract is focused on determining how toxicants work
and cause damage at the cellular level. The research may result in better
methods of risk assessment and compound optimization for both the
pharmaceutical and chemical industries. In April 2003, the NIEHS exercised an
option to the existing contract, providing for an additional $8.4 million for
toxicogenomics studies for the National Toxicology Program.
About Paradigm Genetics
Paradigm Genetics is a biotechnology company using proprietary systems
biology to discover biomarkers to reduce the cost, risk and time of product
development, as well as to discover inaccessible targets for small molecule
discovery, both for our partners and for Paradigm Genetics. Paradigm Genetics
has major collaborations with the National Institute of Environmental Health
Sciences, Bayer CropScience, the Monsanto Company, Pioneer Hi-Bred
International, the National Institute of Standards & Technology's Advanced
Technology Program, and L'Oreal Inc. For more information,
visit http://www.ParadigmGenetics.com .
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including
statements regarding the Company's expectations for using its systems biology
platform to discover biomarkers and inaccessible targets for small molecule
discovery. Such forward-looking statements are based on management's current
expectations and are subject to a number of risks, factors and uncertainties
that may cause actual results, events and performance to differ materially
from those referred to in the forward-looking statements. These risks, factors
and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, Paradigm's early stage of
development, history of net losses, technological and product development
uncertainties, reliance on research collaborations, uncertainty of additional
funding and ability to protect its patents and proprietary rights. Certain of
these and other risks are identified in Paradigm's annual report on Form 10-K
for the year ended December 31, 2002 and in its quarterly report on Form 10-Q
for the quarter ended September 30, 2003, each filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. The Company does not intend to update any of the forward-
looking statements after the date of this release to conform these statements
to actual results or to changes in our expectations, except as may be required
by law.
SOURCE Paradigm Genetics, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.paradigmgenetics.com
CONTACT:
Melissa Matson, Director, Corporate
Communications of Paradigm Genetics, Inc., +1-919-425-3000; or
Brian Ritchie or Mark Vincent of Noonan Russo Presence Euro RSCG,
+1-212-845-4200
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