Platform Provides Leading-Edge Bioinformatics Technology
For Pharmacogenomic Research
MORRISVILLE, N.C., July 27 /PRNewswire/ -- PPGx, Inc., a leading
international developer and supplier of research-based pharmacogenomics
services and products, announced today the launch of its GeneTrials (TM)
Bioinformatics Platform. PPGx is a joint venture of PPD, Inc. (Nasdaq: PPDI)
and Axys Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: AXPH).
The GeneTrials Bioinformatics Platform is a highly advanced and
comprehensive solution to aid in the discovery of important associations
between drug effect and genetic variation. The platform makes use of novel
software and data integration technologies to help scientists rapidly browse,
query and analyze the complex and ever-growing genomic and clinical data sets
encountered in pharmacogenomic research.
PPGx is offering GeneTrials exclusively through a collaboration framework
referred to as the GeneTrials Partner Program. The Partner Program provides
pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies the use of the GeneTrials
Bioinformatics Platform and invites technical and scientific feedback to PPGx
for the continual advancement of the technologies. As part of the program,
PPGx scientists and bioinformatics specialists work directly with partners to
apply and customize GeneTrials to solve the specific information and
analytical problems of the partner's on-going pharmacogenomic research.
"Our clients and partners are experiencing an explosive growth in both the
amount and types of scientific data they use in research. This is a
tremendous challenge for many of these organizations given their already
strained resources and the lack of available commercial solutions," said PPGx
President and CEO Josh Baker, Ph.D. "The GeneTrials Platform can help them
manage and mine that information now. And through our Partner Program, we can
rapidly put GeneTrials technology into our clients' hands and help lay the
information foundation for their pharmacogenomic research initiatives."
According to Baker, the GeneTrials Bioinformatics Platform is the
culmination of an extensive research and development effort to create a
sophisticated suite of software products to support pharmacogenomics research.
"We realized from the start that we needed to tackle the pharmacogenomics
information challenge head-on," he said. "To do that, we developed the
GeneTrials Bioinformatics Platform as a comprehensive solution that we use for
our research initiatives. Now we're making the results of this effort
available to our clients through the GeneTrials Partner Program."
The GeneTrials Bioinformatics Platform is comprised of advanced
bioinformatics software as well as public and proprietary pharmacogenomic data
content. A core component of the platform is the GeneTrials Data Warehouse.
The warehouse employs leading-edge commercial data warehousing technology to
provide a highly scalable and easily accessible repository for integrated
genomic and clinical data. Users can organize, interrogate and analyze the
data through Web-based interfaces and through use of GeneTrials Explorer, a
powerful user interface specifically designed to help scientists manage and
analyze pharmacogenomic data.
Pharmacogenomics is the science of using genetic information to predict
individual responses to drug therapy and is used by researchers to discover
safer medicines, reduce drug development costs and speed time to market.
Scientists have known for decades that there is a genetic basis for the
variable response of patients to drug therapy, and PPGx researchers have been
working for more than seven years to develop a number of genetic tests to
accurately predict how an individual will respond to treatment prior to
therapy.
About PPGx
PPGx (http://www.ppgx.com ) provides technical and consulting expertise in the
application of pharmacogenomics to optimize and accelerate drug discovery and
development. Combining genetic research technologies from its computational
and research divisions, GLP/CLIA global laboratory services and a
comprehensive bioinformatics platform, PPGx provides pharmacogenomic solutions
for biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. A joint venture formed in
February 1999 between PPD, Inc. and Axys Pharmaceuticals, Inc., PPGx is
committed to the discovery of predictive genetic markers for use in clinical
trials to result in delivery of therapeutic and life-saving medicines. PPGx
pharmacogenomic services and products are exclusively marketed by PPD, Inc.
SOURCE PPGx, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.ppgx.com
CONTACT:
Roger Friedensen of Epley Associates,
919-877-0877, or friedensen@epley-ral.com , for PPGx, Inc.
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