Simulations Plus, Inc. (NASDAQ: SLP), a leading provider of consulting
services and software for pharmaceutical discovery and development,
today announced that its second NCE (new chemical entity) initiative,
which involved using Simulations Plus software to design molecules to
inhibit COX-2, has been a success as determined by synthesis and testing
by a third-party lab. Three of the four molecules it has designed are
potent inhibitors of both cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and COX-1 enzymes.
The fourth inhibits COX-2 but only weakly inhibits COX-1.
Dr. Robert Clark, director of cheminformatics sciences for Simulations
Plus, said: “We’re very pleased to report that our second NCE project
has again demonstrated that our ADMET
Design Suite™ (ADMET
Predictor™, MedChem
Studio™, and MedChem
Designer™, supplemented by GastroPlus™
simulations) provides tools that can rapidly and inexpensively generate
new lead molecules with affinity for selected targets. This project was
more challenging than the malaria NCE project we completed two years ago
because this time our goal was to inhibit two targets with a single
molecule while also providing good ADMET (absorption, distribution,
metabolism, excretion, and toxicity) properties. Southern Research
Institute in Birmingham, Alabama, performed the chemical synthesis and
Cerep in Redmond, Washington, performed the COX-2 and COX-1 assays.”
Dr. Michael Lawless, team leader for cheminformatics studies at
Simulations Plus, added: “The only COX-2 inhibitor remaining on the U.S.
market is Celebrex® (celecoxib), after Vioxx® (rofecoxib) and others
were withdrawn for cardiotoxicity side effects. Research after the Vioxx
withdrawal indicated that to avoid cardiotoxicity when inhibiting COX-2,
it is important to also inhibit COX-1 but to a lesser extent. Needless
to say, we’re delighted that we were able to hit two targets with three
of four molecules, and one of them is potent as well as having the
desired property of higher affinity for COX-2 than for COX-1. The fact
that these molecules were designed using only our own software suite is
a testament to the capabilities provided by these powerful programs.”
Walt Woltosz, chairman and chief executive officer of Simulations Plus,
added: “Once again we stuck our necks out and announced prior to
synthesis that we were going to contract with a company to synthesize
several molecules of our own design and have them tested to see if we
were successful. In just a few months, and for a mere fraction of the
normal cost required to design new lead molecules to hit one target, we
were able to design single molecules that each hit two different
targets. This process might take years using traditional methodologies.
We are not aware of any other software company that has applied its
tools in this way - to take the risk of designing new molecules, having
them made, then having them tested, while openly announcing ahead of
time and providing results as soon as they were available. There is a
chance, although it is probably remote, that we might be able to license
one or more of these molecules to a company that could take them forward
into further structural refinements and development. However, our goal
is not to become a drug company, but to show that our software tools
provide very powerful capabilities that can dramatically reduce the time
and cost to generate good lead molecules for a wide variety of targets.
We plan to present our results at upcoming scientific meetings, to
customers at on-site visits, and ultimately, to submit a publication to
one of the peer-reviewed scientific journals that cover this area of
science.”
About Simulations Plus, Inc.
Simulations Plus, Inc., is a
premier developer of groundbreaking drug discovery and development
simulation and modeling software, which is licensed to and used in the
conduct of drug research by major pharmaceutical, biotechnology,
agrochemical, and food industry companies worldwide. Simulations Plus,
Inc., is headquartered in Southern California and trades on the NASDAQ
Capital Market under the symbol “SLP.” For more information, visit our
Web site at www.simulations-plus.com.
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Safe Harbor Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995 – With the exception of historical information, the
matters discussed in this press release are forward-looking statements
that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Words like “believe,”
“expect” and “anticipate” mean that these are our best estimates as of
this writing, but that there can be no assurances that expected or
anticipated results or events will actually take place, so our actual
future results could differ significantly from those statements. Factors
that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not
limited to: our ability to maintain our competitive advantages,
continued success with testing our new molecules to inhibit COX-2 and
COX-1 enzymes and for other properties necessary for molecules to become
drugs, the general economics of the pharmaceutical industry, our ability
to finance growth, our ability to continue to attract and retain highly
qualified technical staff, our ability to identify and close
acquisitions on terms favorable to the Company, and a sustainable
market. Further information on our risk factors is contained in our
quarterly and annual reports as filed with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission.
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