OREANDA-NEWS. Cyprotex PLC (AIM:CRX), a specialist Contract Research Organisation (CRO), announced today the launch of eight additional drug transporter assays. Drug transporters are present in multiple cells and tissues within the body. They play a major role in drug or chemical disposition by either pumping molecules out of the cell (efflux) or into the cell (uptake). These processes influence drug or chemical plasma exposures and levels within tissues in the body, which in turn can affect efficacy or toxicity of the molecule. 

In total, Cyprotex can now evaluate potential activity or inhibition of 19 different drug transporters. The new transporter assays being launched by Cyprotex evaluate transport by PEPT1, PEPT2, NTCP, OATP1A2, OATP2B1, OAT2, OAT4 and OCTN2. These transporters have important roles in peptide (prodrug) transport (PEPT1 and PEPT2), bile acid transport (NTCP), and organ-specific disposition of drugs or chemicals (OATP1A2, OATP2B1, OAT2, OAT4, and OCTN2). Prior to this launch, Cyprotex already offered a full panel of transporter assays for regulatory drug-drug interaction studies to assess transport by P-gp, BCRP, OATP1B1, OATP1B3, OAT1, OAT3, OCT1, OCT2, MATE1, MATE2-K and BSEP. The additional transporters now being introduced allow Cyprotex to expand into more specialised transporter studies where drug delivery or organ-specific toxicity might be the primary investigation.

Dr Anthony Baxter, Cyprotex's Chief Executive Officer, comments: "Drug transporters influence all areas of our business including plasma/tissue concentrations and drug-drug interactions (ADME/PK), adverse effects in specific tissues/organs (Toxicity) and drug efficacy/therapeutic effect (Biosciences). Furthermore, expression of these transporters can vary in certain sub-populations and this can lead to unexpected toxicity or lack of efficacy in specific individuals. Therefore, understanding the role of transporters in drug or chemical disposition in the body is vitally important in extrapolating in vitro science to the patient situation.'