DNAprint Genomics (DNAG)

[FUTURE]

DNAP competitors/Players in the pharmacogenomics arena

Hope all is well. Here are some of the players in the field. Please make a note of the FOCUS section. There are some in the pharmacogenomics field. But first an exerpt of a research paper in regards to pharmacogenomics and its future. Please note the references used at the bottom of the page.

"Major pharmaceutical firms have responded to the growing emphasis on individualized therapy to improve drug efficacy and safety with large investments in pharmacogenomics research. It is becoming apparent that genetic testing to identify patients in whom a particular drug can be given safely and effectively may provide those products with a competitive advantage. Several of the world's largest pharmaceutical firms, including AstraZeneca, Bayer, Pfizer, SmithKline Beecham, and Novartis have formed a consortium with 5 major academic centers with the goal of identifying 300,000 heritable SNPs within the next 2 years37. The National Institutes of Health, in an independent effort, has made $30 million available over 3 years, starting in January of 1998, for the discovery and compilation of 100,000 SNPs37. To top this all, scientists at Celera Genomics contend that they will have a collection of 6 to 10 million SNPs by mid 2000. With availability of high-resolution SNP maps and DNA microarray analytical capability, performing genome-wide association studies during clinical trials becomes feasible, enabling one to identify disease-susceptibility genes for prognosis, drug discovery, and selection of therapy. If risk for a given disease is predicted to be high, as judged by the SNP pattern of a patient, preventive therapy and lifestyle adjustments (diet, exercise, etc) may be implemented. A comprehensive SNP map will also contain genetic variants relevant to drug transport, metabolism, and receptor interaction and, therefore, needs to be considered in drug selection. Moreover, a comprehensive SNP map may also serve to alert the therapist when careful drug dosage monitoring is required. Stratifying patient populations using genome-wide SNP maps presents a major challenge to the pharmaceutical industry. The outcome from applying such an approach cannot be accurately gauged at present."

"Looking farther ahead, and on a much broader scale, the efficacy of administered drugs may be improved, rather than avoiding toxicity as the main objective, by distinguishing good responders from poor responders prior to therapy. Often, effective drug response is limited to a portion of treated patients, whereas the majority benefits little or not at all. Predicting which patients are most likely to respond best to a particular drug, or which drug will yield optimal effects for a given patient, would represent a significant advance in therapy even with current drugs, let alone novel drugs developed with these criteria in mind. The success of this approach depends in large part on assembling an extensive, high-quality database of informative SNPs, a major focus for genomics companies (Table 2). Ultimately the vision of pharmacogenomics encompasses a genetic profile for each individual, containing sufficient information to select which drugs are most likely to be safe and effective in that person. The same insight will serve to prevent disease to begin with, arguably the most desirable goal.

However, obstacles to the implementation of this vision are formidable. The dynamic complexity of the human genome, multigenic disease origins, and involvement of numerous genes in drug response impede the effective application of genome-wide SNP scanning in the clinic. Drug responses will most likely be associated with patterns of multiple polymorphically expressed traits, rather than single causative polymorphisms. Such patterns of genetic variants differ among distinct ethnic groups. This factor could obscure prediction of disease susceptibility and drug response across patient populations, and it points to the need to genetically stratify patients for clinical pharmacogenomic studies.

We are uncertain as to the overall direction of pharmacogenomics over the next 10 years. Although new analytical systems introduced during the last decade have offered incremental improvements over previously available technology, they have not allowed scientists to maximize the benefit of multiple advancements in genomics, combinatorial chemistry, and assay technologies. The realization of an individualized approach to drug discovery and therapy will require new statistical methods and analytical systems providing an order-of-magnitude increase in throughput, along with corresponding decreases in operating costs, with enhanced accuracy and reduced complexity.

In addition to the daunting scientific challenges we have outlined, ethical issues need to be resolved. Information about an individual's genetic makeup raises privacy questions and ethical dilemmas about disease susceptibility, prognosis, and treatment options. Obviously, information of this type must be carefully safeguarded to ensure privacy. Many legal and economic issues will need to be resolved.

Whether or not these new genomic technologies find their way into everyday clinical use during the next 10 years, they will prove valuable tools in clinical research directed at optimizing drug therapy. The vision of pharmacogenomics is leading us to a more individualized approach to drug therapy, while revealing limits inherent to the treatment of disease in broad patient populations."



Selected Companies With a Focus on Genomics, Including Pharmacogenomics

In the order of Company, Web Address, Focus

ACLARA BioSciences, Inc http://www.aclara.com Lab card microfluidic technology
Aeiveos Sciences Group, LLC www.aeiveos.com Aging-related genes and gene responses
Affymetrix, Inc http://www.affymetrix.com GeneChip microarray technology
Aurora Bioscience Corp http://www.aurorabio.com Genomic and drug screening technology
Axys Pharmaceuticals Inc./PPGx http://www.axyspharm.com Pharmacogenomics (with PDD Inc.)
Caliper Technologies Corp http://www.clipertech.com Microfluidic Lab Chip, SNP scanning (with Agilent)
Celera Genomics http://www.celera.com Human Genome sequencing and SNP scanning
Cellomics, Inc www.cellomics.com/ Pharmacocellomics, cellular bioinformatics
Curagen Corp http://www.curagen.com/ SNP scanning; Gene expression and drug response
Epidauros http://www.epidauros.com/ Pharmacogenomics in drug discovery and therapy
Exelixis, Inc http://www.exelixis.com Model systems for drug discovery
Eurona Medical, AB http://www.eurona.com/ Drug responses and genetic profiling
Gemini Research, Ltd http://www.gemini-research.co.uk/ Gene discovery; dizygotic twin studies
Genaissance Pharmaceuticals, Inc http://www.genaissance.com Genetic polymorphism in cancer, vascular lesions
Gene Logic, Inc http://www.genelogic.com Gene expression databases
Genome Therapeutics Corp http://www.crik.com/ Human high-resolution polymorphism database
Genometrix, Inc http://www.genometrix.com DNA microarrays
Genomic Solutions, Inc http://www.genomesolutions.com/ Genomics
Genset, SA http://www.genset.fr High-density biallelic maps; SNP identification
Hexagen Pic http://www.hexagen.co.uk/ Single-strand conformational assay of polymorphisms
Hyseq, Inc http://www.hyseq.com Genomic methods for therapeutic discovery
Incyte Pharmaceuticals, Inc http://www.incyte.com Bioinformatics, SNP scanning, functional genomics
Kiva Genetics http://www.kivagen.com Pharmacogenetic testing services
Lion Bioscience, AG http://www.lion-ag.de/ Bioinformatics, drug targets from gene expression
Lynx Therapeutics http://www.lynxgen.com Micro-bead based DNA/SNP scanning
Microcide Pharmaceuticals http://www.microcide.com/ Microbial genomics and antibiotics
Mitokor, Inc http://www.mitokor.com/ Mitochondrial genome analysis
Nova Molecular, Inc http://www.cns-hts.com/ CNS disease profiling
Millennium Predictive Medicine http://www.mlnm.com/subsid/mpmx.html Pharmacogenomics, predicting disease and therapy
Orchid Biocomputer, Inc http://www.orchidbio.com Microfluidic devices and pharmacogenetic testing
PE Biosystems, Inc http://www.pebio.com Genomics, drug discovery
PPGx http://www.ppgx.com Pharmacogenetic Testing Services
Protogene Laboratories http://www.protogene.com DNA microarray development
Rigel, Inc http://www.rigelinc.com/ Identification of genetic drug targets
Rosetta Inpharmatics http://www.rii.com/ Oligonucleotide array studies
Third Wave Technologies, Inc http://www.twt.com/ SNP scanning, pharmacogenomics
Transgenomic, Inc http://www.transgenomic.com/ Discovery of genetic variations
Variagenics, Inc http://www.variagenics.com/ Cancer therapeutics based on loss of heterozygosity

REFERENCE:

Mancinelli L, Cronin M, Sadee W. Pharmacogenomics: The Promise of Personalized Medicine.
AAPS PharmSci. 2000; 2 (1): article 4. DOI: 10.1208/ps020104