Codexis adds metabolite screening and synthesis to tool suite

Many new drugs fails due to undesirable drug metabolites, but now US-based biotech company Codexis Inc has introduced a research tool that can enable pharmaceutical companies to rapidly identify and synthesise drug metabolites and novel drug lead candidates.

The Codex MicroCyp Plate is based on a platform technology for preparing and identifying drug metabolites. The research tool relies on a specific cytochrome (cyp) enzyme, 102A1, which metabolises fatty acids in the microbe.

"This platform can be used by pharmaceutical companies to more efficiently identify and produce safer, more efficacious drugs earlier in the drug development process," said Peter Seufer-Wasserthal, vice-president and general manager of Codexis Pharma Services. "Conventional methods for metabolite identification and production and lead diversification are difficult and time-consuming. Our customers now have an efficient way to make multiple compounds for testing at a reduced cost. They can also identify toxic metabolites before time and money is spent on problematic drug candidates."

Of the drug metabolites produced by the body when breaking down a drug, the primary metabolites are largely formed in the liver by human P450 enzymes in order to aid in elimination of a drug from the body. The US Food and Drug Administration now recommends metabolic characterisation for all new investigational human therapeutics.

In some cases, metabolites can be toxic, while in others such have shown improved efficacy and lower toxicity than the administered drug substance. Codeine, for example, is metabolised by the body into morphine, providing pain relief. Thus the Codex MicroCyp Plate may help in drug lead identification.

The metabolites generated by bacterial cytochrome P450 enzymes are licensed by Codexis from the California Institute of Technology.