News for 'SFE' - (Cellumen Enters Second Phase of Safety Assessment Testing for
EPA ToxCast Program)
PITTSBURGH, Jul 21, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Cellumen, Inc., a discovery and
early safety assessment company, today announced that it has been selected by
the EPA to provide its CellCiphr analysis in the second phase of the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) ToxCast(TM) program.
In the first proof-of-concept phase, Cellumen generated hepatic toxicity data
that served as pivotal features of predictive models reported at the ToxCast
Data Analysis Summit in May 2009. These Cellular Systems Biology (CBS) models of
hepato-toxicity form the basis of Cellumen's expanded engagement with the EPA,
in which thousands of CellCiphr profiles will be generated. Each phase of the
program increases the number of samples in the data set with the expectation
that several thousand chemicals will be tested. Cellumen's eligibility to
participate in additional phases could generate $5.5 million for the Company.
"Cellumen is honored that our Cellular Systems Biology technology has been
selected for the second phase of the EPA's ToxCast Program," said Patricia
"Kate" A. Johnston, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer at Cellumen. "We look
forward to continuing our work with the EPA and delivering our value proposition
to identify safety liabilities early and identify mechanisms of action with a
cost-effective and powerful platform."
Cellumen first entered into an agreement with the EPA in April 2007 as part of
the EPA's multi-year ToxCast Program. ToxCast was designed to develop a
cost-effective approach for prioritizing the toxicity testing of large numbers
of chemicals in a short period of time. When completed, the forecasted potential
human toxicity of chemicals will provide EPA regulatory programs with
information to prioritize chemicals for more detailed toxicological evaluations,
and lead to more efficient use of animal testing.
About Cellumen Cellumen is the leading innovator in Cellular Systems Biology
(CSB(TM)) solutions providing the most accurate predictions of drug efficacy and
safety, thus reducing failure rates and cutting development costs. Cellumen's
CSB solutions are driving early safety assessment by addressing the full
complexity of disease and safety. Leading global organizations, including top
pharmaceutical companies, the EPA, FDA, and NIH, partner with Cellumen. Cellumen
is a partner company of Safeguard Scientifics. Other investors include Novitas
Capital, the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse and Innovation Works. For more
information about Cellumen, please visit www.cellumen.com.
SOURCE: Cellumen, Inc.
CONTACT:
For Cellumen
Gregory FCA
Theresa Murray, 610-642-8253 x164
Theresa@GregoryFCA.com
“Those who don't know history are destined to repeat it.”
Edmund Burke (British Statesman and Philosopher, 1729-1797
