Phylonix Launches Family of Bioassays Using Zebrafish Embryos.

Business Editors & Health/Medical Writers

BIOWIRE2K

NASHVILLE, Tenn.--(BW HealthWire)--March 18, 2002

Phylonix, a new Contract Research Organization (CRO), today launched a family of bioassays for drug screening using zebrafish embryos. Services include: general toxicity, specific toxicity, cellular activity, gene profiling, genotoxicity, pathology and behavioral studies. Customized experiments and protocols suitable for drug discovery and screening can also be designed.

According to Patricia McGrath, Chief Executive Officer, "The model is more informative than cell based testing and more convenient than mice. Due to their small size, high throughput drug screening (HTS) on large libraries can be performed using a quantitative microplate format and Phylonix has developed HTS assays for angiogenesis and apoptosis. This is a major advantage compared with testing in mice."

Zebrafish currently rival mice and rats as a popular laboratory animal model. Interest in this animal for drug screening is rapidly increasing due to several inherent advantages including: short experimental time (3-5 days), access to all developmental stages, rapid vertebrate organogenesis, easy manipulation for performing automated or visual screens, drug administration directly to fish water, statistically significant numbers of animals per test, small amount of drug required, and low cost.

Zebrafish Background

Laboratory animals are critical for defining the mechanisms of drug activity and for testing therapeutic regimens, however, only a few useful models have been developed. Although whole animal testing has previously been performed on invertebrates, including fruitfly and nematode, these organisms are not closely related to humans and they lack many of the same organs and enzymes. Their use as comparative models for toxicity effects in humans is limited. All essential components of vertebrate form and organ development are mimicked in the transparent zebrafish and their molecular basis is either identical or similar, underscoring the potential for use in research on human diseases.

Zebrafish develop rapidly. Three days after fertilization, the embryo is essentially complete, with a functioning heart, circulatory and nervous system. This rapid development is comparable to three months of human development. In addition, zebrafish have a relatively short generation time (2-3 months) and produce large clutches of embryos (100-200 per mating). By day four, the zebrafish embryo has hatched and can eat and swim. Intestinal epithelial cells are polarized and express digestive enzymes. Hepatocytes secrete bile. Pancreatic islets and acini produce insulin and carboxypeptidase. Since zebrafish embryos are transparent, every event in early development can be observed visually. Quantitative endpoint assays can be performed using microplate readers, similar to cell based formats.

Company Background

Phylonix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a Contract Research Organization focused on developing and marketing novel in vivo zebrafish based assays for drug discovery and screening. The Company has assembled a team of toxicologists, biochemists, developmental biologists, molecular biologists, and aquaculturists. Custom assays can be designed for high throughput quantitative microplate analysis or multi-parameter visual assessment. Phylonix is operating a state of the art aquaculture facility with the capacity to produce thousands of embryos per week. Resources include automated sample handling devices, microplate readers, confocal microscopy, and flow cytometry.

March 17-21:

Society of Toxicology Annual Meeting

Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center, Nashville, TN

Booth Number: 462, Posters: LB59 & LB75