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- Posted Tuesday February 1, 2011
Avantra Biosciences teams with TGen Drug Development to assist pharma
Massachusetts firm's testing devices help scientists get faster drug results
Feb. 1, 2011 -Avantra Biosciences (Avantra®) today announced the
selection of TGen Drug Development (TD2) as a key test site for
Avantra's new biomarker quantitation platform.
Avantra, based near Boston in Woburn, Mass., has created an
automated multiplex immunoassay system to evaluate the associations
between elevated protein levels, unique patient characteristics,
and drug responses. The new Q400 Biomarker Workstation and
innovative Angio Qx™ BioChip Immunoassay will enable the rapid
measurement of biomarkers that can predict how cancer patients will
respond to new drug therapies.
Combined with TD2's integrated suite of molecular analysis tools -
designed to reduce the uncertainty in the drug development process
- the partnership with Avantra will help enable emerging drug
companies to quickly and safely get their discoveries to market,
where they can benefit patients.
"Avantra's advanced testing technologies will help scientists
speed development of their laboratory discoveries into new
therapeutics in a safe and cost-effective manner," said TD2
President Dr. Stephen Gately. "Early identification of biomarkers
that are associated with drug activity will facilitate a more
seamless translation to measure the most appropriate markers for
the same drug in the clinic."
TD2, based in Scottsdale, Ariz., provides drug development firms
with expertise in moving promising laboratory discoveries through
the pre-clinical, clinical and regulatory approval steps of getting
new drugs to patients as quickly and safely as possible.
Avantra will assist in this process with the commercialization of
the new Q400 BioMarker Workstation and the Angio Qx™ BioChip
Immunoassay. The power and simplicity of Avantra's QPDx platform
offers researchers easy-to-use bench-top multiplex protein tests
that deliver rapid quantitative results with very little setup
time. The completely self-contained Q400/Angio Qx combination
provides quantitative protein biomarker results for ten analytes in
less than an hour, with less than five minutes of sample
preparation.
Avantra is currently developing additional assays for its QDPxTM
Product Line that will target specific areas in cancer
medicine.
"TD2 is a leader and change agent in the scientific community's
effort to apply innovative molecular analysis technologies to solve
challenges in the drug development and oncology fields," said Brian
McKernan, CEO of Avantra.
"We are delighted to partner with TD2. Our collaboration with
their outstanding team of professionals is a critical component to
Avantra's goal of integrating our QPDx proteomic solutions with
novel and cutting edge molecular profiling technologies," McKernan
said. "We anticipate our collaboration with TD2 will enable Avantra
to expedite the release of new oncology focused QPDx BioChip
panels, and enable TD2 to couple advanced multiplex protein
technologies with their innovative drug profiling platform."
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About Avantra Biosciences Corporation
Avantra Biosciences is a privately held diagnostics company that
has pioneered next-generation technology for protein biomarker
analysis. Initially focused on oncology, Avantra's integrated
system enables scientists and clinicians to perform multiplex
biomarker analysis for research use only (RUO) from their lab bench
or clinical trial site. For more information visit:
www.avantrabio.com.
Press Contact:
Elizabeth Holland
Vice President, Business Operations
617-892-7178
[email protected]
*
About TD2
TGen Drug Development (TD2) provides innovative services for
oncology-focused biopharmaceutical companies using a dedicated team
of professionals with broad experience and understanding in drug
development. TD2, based in Scottsdale, Arizona, is uniquely
positioned to support the need for improved and accelerated
development of new chemical entities (NCE's) for life-threatening
diseases. TD2 uses a unique combination of experience gained
through its contract research organization business, and an
integrated suite of proprietary and non-proprietary tools,
preclinical study execution, regulatory affairs assistance,
clinical trial design and management, and drug development experts
to successfully move therapeutics towards regulatory approval. TD2
is dedicated to reducing the risks and uncertainty inherent in the
drug development process. TD2 integrates world-class clinical and
regulatory expertise with "-omic" science and provides unique drug
development services aimed at minimizing the risk for clients in
the Oncology drug development industry. TD2 is a non-profit
subsidiary of the Phoenix-based Translational Genomics Research
Institute (TGen). For more information, visit: www.td2.org.
Press Contact:
Steve Yozwiak
TGen Senior Science Writer
602-343-8704
[email protected]
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