Please join us for two exciting talks focused on the science driving personalized medicine in drug discovery and development.    We’ll examine the human biology of drug metabolism and how variation in response among human populations is assessed in the context of drug screening and clinical trials.

Apredica:  Katya Tsaioun, Ph.D., President, Scientific Director, Co-Founder / Robert Annand, Ph.D., Director of Biology

Allelic variation in drug metabolism provides the basis of the personalized medicine movement and is a major concern in assessing the potential for drug-drug interactions (DDI).  A large number of allelic variants of Cytochrome P450s (Cyps) can be responsible for the variable metabolism of a number of classes of drugs.  For example, Cyp2D6, which is responsible for the metabolism of a number of CNS active drugs, has more than 30 different alleles described.  Allelic variation has been observed for conjugative metabolism as well.  Allelic variation in UGT2B15, which is responsible for the glucuronidation of a number of drugs, including oxazepam, may be responsible for the variable metabolism observed for this drug.  With the collection of allelic variants of drug metabolizing enzymes, characterization of the potential for DDI variability can be assessed at the level of metabolism, yielding a clearer picture of potential drug safety risks for selected patient populations.

Beckman  Coulter  Genomics:  Marc J. Rubenfield, Sr. Manager, Technical and Sales Operations

Developed and validated as collaboration between Beckman Coulter Genomics, Affymetrix, and Eli Lilly, the Affymetrix DMET chip assays 1,936 markers in 225 genes including all FDA validated biomarkers, providing a comprehensive assessment of metabolic and transporter genes used to predict drug response and metabolic potential in individual patients and related populations.  DMET was the first human genotyping solution available with comprehensive coverage of ADME drug metabolism biomarkers, including common and rare variations, insertions, deletions, copy number polymorphisms, triallelic SNPs and pseudogenes, and has become an important part of assessing the best clinical trial populations for successful drug development.

This meeting will take place at the MassBio offices, One Cambridge Center, Cambridge.