BioIVT 'better positioned' to support ADME-Tox clients with Optivia purchase

09-Jul-2018 - Last updated on 09-Jul-2018 at 16:03 GMT

(Image: Getty/Alexander Traksel)

Related tags Drug safety Toxicology ADME Fda Ema Assay

BioIVT adds transporter assay products and services to its ADME-Toxicology portfolio with the acquisition of Optivia Biotechnology – a deal which aligns with the company’s efforts to support drug safety and efficacy, says VP.

BioIVT provides research models and services for drug discovery and development. The company, formerly BioreclamationIVT, today announced its acquisition of Santa Clara, CA-based Optivia Biotechnology, which provides transporter assay services.

Following the acquisition – financial terms of which were not disclosed – BioIVT’s portfolio now includes Optivaia’s entire product offering, including transporter assays, multi-transporter models, transporter systems biology, and molecular transport research solutions.

Optivia will join BioIVT’s Phasezero Research Services group and work closely with the company’s services division, which originated following BioIVT’s acquisition of Qualyst Transporter Solutions in 2017.

Dr. Courtney Noah, BioIVT vice president, marketing, said the acquisition aligns with BioIVT’s efforts to support drug safety and efficacy by providing model systems “that enable a better understanding of complex drug transport processes.”

BioIVT now “will be better positioned” to support ADME (absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion) and toxicology clients through offerings such as IND (investigational new drug) enabling studies, high throughput screening platforms, and integrated transporter solutions, Noah explained.

“The Optivia suite of products and services allows for on-demand generation of hepatic models to look at one or many transporter mechanisms,” she said.

Drug-drug interaction

Playing a key role in drug uptake and disposition, transporter effects are evaluated during the lead candidate selection and optimization process.

As part of this, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), European Medicines Agency (EMA), and Japanese Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA) request that in vitro studies be conducted on nine specific transporters for drug-drug interaction (DDI) assessment and drug labeling.

The US FDA currently is establishing a public docket to aid its development of a policy/guidance document on the assessment of DDIs for therapeutic proteins.

Public comment should be submitted by today, July 9, 2018.