WASHINGTON, March 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — RainDance
Technologies, Inc. and Ambry Genetics, today announced a new
collaboration focused on the development and commercialization of a
comprehensive drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, and
excretion (ADME) genetic screening panel for use on next-generation
sequencing (NGS) systems. The announcement was made in conjunction
with the Society of Toxicology’s 50th Annual Meeting in Washington,
D.C. Financial terms were not disclosed.

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ADME analysis is a critical part of the drug discovery and
development process, providing important data on how a compound
reaches the blood stream and whether distribution, metabolism and
excretion are affected by factors such as age, sex, ethnicity or
genetics. In recent years, the biotechnology and pharmaceutical
industries have been performing ADME screening earlier in an effort
to reduce the significant costs associated with failed drug trials
and hospitalizations due to adverse events. Scientific studies
indicate that more effective indicators of atypical drug metabolism
and molecular pharmacology could help reduce hospitalizations
associated with adverse drug events by 50 percent or
more.(1),(2)

Current genotyping tools for ADME research lack the genetic
sensitivity, genomic coverage, and resolution necessary to detect
many of the important mutations associated with adverse drug
events. The new ADME panel developed by RainDance and Ambry will
provide scientists with the capacity to perform sequence analysis
of entire coding regions associated with more than 220 key drug
metabolism-linked genes including transporters, receptors,
regulators and all pharmacodynamics and pharmacogenetic genes, as
well as all U.S. Federal Drug Administration (FDA)-identified
pharmacogenomic biomarker genes.(3)

“Scientists interested in an

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