For the first time, says the company, a complete understanding of underlying eicosanoid metabolism can be obtained from a single platform
Lipomics Technologies, a privately held company that develops tools for assessing and understanding complex metabolic processes using proprietary technologies for lipid metabolite analysis and interpretation, has announced the availability of a new eicosanoid platform to further enhance drug discovery and development for a wide range of critical diseases.
The Lipomics platform enables users to profile a broad range of eicosanoids in the cyclooxygenase, lipoxygenase and P450 pathways.
These metabolic pathways are central to inflammation and numerous important diseases affecting millions to tens of millions in the USA alone.
They also include pathways targeted by Cox II inhibitor drugs, including Vioxx, Celebrex and Bextra, and leukotriene modifiers for asthma, including Singulair, Accolate and Zyflo.
For the first time, a complete understanding of underlying eicosanoid metabolism can be obtained from a single platform, says Lipomics.
Current assay techniques measure only a limited number of eicosanoids at once, making it difficult to perform profiling for a complete analysis of eicosanoid metabolic activity.
"Our growing expertise and inclusion of leading experts in the fields of inflammation and metabolic diseases on our scientific advisory board provides a perfect environment in which to fully exploit Lipomics's powerful platform for eicosanoid analysis.
"We are pleased to offer this one-stop service to our current clients and to open discussions with potential partners about access to this new assay," said Tom Anderson, Lipomics's CEO.
"We believe the ability to monitor eicosanoids with a single assay platform will help many drug companies develop better drugs for diseases such as cardiovascular disease, which causes more deaths in Americans than any other disease and is estimated by the CDC to cost over $200 billion annually in health care expenditures alone".
Eicosanoids and disease conditions.
Eicosanoids are the central inflammatory lipid compounds of metabolism and are involved in immune response, vasodilation and constriction, macrophage recruitment, blood clotting, inflammation, pain and swelling.
These biologically active agents are derived from arachidonic acid and include prostaglandins, leukotrienes and thromboxanes.
Eicosanoids have complex contributions to physiology, trigger inflammation and are implicated in a number of widespread disease conditions including rheumatoid arthritis, cardiovascular disease, central nervous system disorders/pain, diabetes, obesity, asthma, metabolic syndrome and cancer.
