RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., June 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Paradigm Genetics, Inc. (Nasdaq: PDGM) today announced that it has entered
a research collaboration with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
and the National Institute of Environmental Health Science (NIEHS), National
Institutes of Health (NIH), to study the mechanism of acetaminophen toxicity
in liver. The research is focused on identifying better diagnostics for
assessing liver damage and individual patient response to therapeutic
treatment.
Under the terms of the collaboration, Paradigm will conduct biochemical
profiling experiments on tissue and biofluid samples from rat and human
subjects exposed to acetaminophen, a common pain reliever. The company will
then integrate its results with gene expression profiling and histopathology
data from NIEHS and clinical data from UNC-CH to discover novel biomarkers
that provide better sensitivity and precision in predicting the onset of liver
toxicity and disease prognosis. Intellectual property rights to the
biomarkers and diagnostics identified during the course of these studies will
be determined based upon inventorship (according to U.S. patent law).
"Today, liver damage is often undetected until serious complications
occur," said Tom Colatsky, Ph.D., Vice President, Healthcare Research. "The
current study will lay a foundation for identifying biochemical signals that
are more sensitive than current standards and that bridge results obtained in
the lab to clinical outcomes. If we can develop methods for earlier, more
accurate prediction and detection of liver damage, we can save lives by
increasing the window for successful medical treatment, while identifying the
best treatment methods for each patient."
Colatsky continued, "For Paradigm, this collaboration provides an
excellent opportunity to apply our systems biology approach to biomarker
discovery. By tracking complex diseases from gene to cell to system, we
expect to discover sets of biomarkers that can be non-invasively detected in
blood and urine and are indicative of liver disease progression at the genetic
level. These may lead to new, more powerful diagnostics."
"Liver toxicity is one of the leading reasons that drugs fail in clinical
trials or are withdrawn from market," said Paul Watkins, M.D., Verne S.
Caviness Distinguished Professor of Medicine and Professor of Pharmacotherapy,
University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill and Director of UNC Hospital's
General Clinical Research Center, who is leading UNC's participation in the
UNC-NIEHS-Paradigm research. "Better markers of liver toxicity will help
pharmaceutical companies make more informed decisions about the possible
safety risks associated with new drugs entering clinical development. I am
pleased to work with Paradigm and NIEHS on this project. I look forward to
addressing the challenge of combining different data sets to improve disease
diagnosis and the assessment of drug-induced hepatotoxicity."
About Paradigm Genetics
Paradigm is a biotechnology company aiming to increase R&D productivity by
focusing its integrated suite of technologies on the product development
cycle, from target discovery to subsequent enhancement of the safety and
efficacy profiles of development candidates in agriculture and human health.
Paradigm chooses a systems biology approach to understand gene function in the
context of biological pathways, to develop assays and biomarkers for molecular
diagnostic solutions tailored to the needs of our partners. Paradigm's
proprietary Gene to Cell to System(TM) approach has three major components:
gene expression profiling, biochemical profiling (also known as metabolomics)
and data integration and coherence. For more information, visit
http://www.paradigmgenetics.com.
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including
statements regarding the use and impact of data generated from the
toxicogenomics research. 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 Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2003, 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
Mark Vincent, Vice President of Noonan Russo Presence Euro RSCG,
+1-212-845-4200, for Paradigm Genetics, Inc.
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