News Archive
2006 Archive | 2005 Archive | 2004 Archive | 2003 Archive | 2002 Archive
November 1, 2005
CellzDirect CSO Dr. Ed LeCluyse delivers address to ISSX
October 28, 2005
CellzDirect Attends ISSX and HRA 2005
August 29, 2005
CellzDirect Adds Scientific Depth to Services Capabilities
July 12, 2005
CellzDirect Relocates Corporate Headquarters to North Carolina
May 10, 2005
CellzDirect Finalizes $4.5m Equity Round to fund Expansion at North Carolina and Texas Laboratories
April 1, 2005
CellzDirect Attracts Top Scientific Talent
February 18, 2005
CellzDirect Acquires New Facility and Expands Texas GLP Laboratory
CellzDirect CSO Dr. Ed LeCluyse delivers address to ISSX
Introduction to ISSX presentation by Dr. Ed LeCluyse
November 1, 2005
Dr. Ed LeCluyse, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of CellzDirect, presented at ISSX 2005 on the topic of "Induction-Mediated Drug Interactions: In Vitro/In Vivo Assessment and Clinical Relevance." An excerpt of the introduction to the lecture is included here:
"The induction of drug clearance pathways, including phase I/II enzymes and transporters, can have important clinical consequences. Drugs that are inducers of drug-metabolizing enzymes and transporters can increase the clearance of other drugs that are substrates for the induced enzyme(s) resulting in a decreased therapeutic effect. Alternatively, induced bioactivation of drugs, such as acetaminophen, can lead to increased risk of hepatotoxicity. During the past several years, significant advances have been made in our knowledge of the mechanisms that regulate the expression of genes that determine drug clearance. Nuclear receptors, such as the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), pregnane X receptor (PXR) and constitutive androstane receptor (CAR), have been recognized as key mediators of drug-induced changes in the expression of CYP enzymes, as well as of phase II enzymes and transporters. However, species differences in nuclear receptor activation are significant and it is clear that prediction of CYP induction in humans from data derived from most animal models can be problematic. As such, in vitro human-relevant model systems have become increasingly used to evaluate enzyme induction. This presentation will review our current understanding of the mechanisms of enzyme induction and the in vitro methods for assessing the induction potential of new drugs. These approaches will be discussed in light of the new FDA guidance document, which outlines the proper conduct of in vitro induction studies. Finally, case histories of in vivo/in vitro correlations will be presented and discussed with a special emphasis on interpretation of in vitro data and its clinical relevance."
CellzDirect Attends ISSX and HRA 2005
October 28, 2005
CellzDirect, Inc. attended the International Society for the Study of Xenobiotics Annual Conference in Maui, Hawaii and the Hepatocyte Research Association (HRA), a satellite meeting of ISSX. Dr. Ed LeCluyse, as an invited lecturer at ISSX, presented on the topic of “Induction-Mediated Drug Interactions: In Vitro/In Vivo Assessment and Clinical Relevance”. Dr. Jasminder Sahi presented at the HRA meeting on the topic of “Utility of Hepatic Transporter Assays in Drug Development.”
Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Ed LeCluyse stated “As the FDA works to revise its guidances for drug interaction studies, it is important that my colleagues be made aware of the correlations between in vitro and in vivo data. I was excited to present at ISSX on this topic, as well as how it relates to induction and provide insight into these correlations.”
CellzDirect Adds Scientific Depth to Services Capabilities
August 29, 2005
CellzDirect, Inc., a privately held, North Carolina hepatic cell based biotech company, announced today that Dr. Jeanette Hill and Dr. Stephen Ferguson have recently joined the company. Dr. Hill and Dr. Ferguson will be playing key roles at CellzDirect’s Austin, Texas in vitro services laboratory.
Prior to joining CellzDirect, Dr. Hill served as Manager/Study Director for the In Vitro Drug Screening group of Ricerca Biosciences for 5 years. At Ricerca, Dr. Hill was a key investigator and was involved in studies for in vitro drug screening, drug development for drug-drug interaction, metabolism, protein binding, cytotoxicity, permeability and solubility studies. She received a doctorate degree from Washington University, St. Louis, MO, where she studied protein engineering and folding. Her postdoctoral work at Case Western Reserve University focused on alcoholic liver disease and at Washington University Medical School on inflammatory processes involved in autoimmune diabetes.
Prior to joining Cellzdirect, Dr. Ferguson was a Research Fellow in the Human Metabolism Section of the Laboratory of Pharmacology and Chemistry at the National Institute on Environmental Health Sciences. As a Research Fellow/Postdoctoral Fellow in Dr. Joyce Goldstein’s laboratory, Dr. Ferguson initiated studies to explore the inducibility of human Phase I drug metabolizing enzymes in collaboration with Dr. Masa Negishi and Dr. Ed LeCluyse. Dr. Ferguson received his Ph.D. in chemistry from North Carolina State University where his research focused on the molecular engineering of proteins to bind transition metals for future development of catalytic metalloantibodies.
At CellzDirect, both Dr. Hill and Dr. Ferguson are responsible for conducting and directing contracted drug discovery and development studies. Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. Ed LeCluyse stated “We are excited to have Dr. Hill and Dr. Ferguson join our team and provide expertise in the area of drug induction and metabolism studies to expand our expertise and services capabilities in our Austin laboratory.”
CellzDirect Relocates Corporate Headquarters to North Carolina
July 12, 2005
CellzDirect, Inc., the premier provider of hepatic products and in vitro metabolism services, announced today that it has relocated its corporate headquarters from Tucson, Arizona, where the company was founded, to its state-of-the-art laboratory in Pittsboro, North Carolina.
Scott Edelman, President and CEO, and long time resident of Tucson, has moved to North Carolina with the closure of the Tucson office. Mr. Edelman stated “There was no longer a need for the company to maintain an office in Tucson as a result of the growth of both our North Carolina and Texas laboratories. We anticipate the geographic consolidation of our corporate management will enhance our ability to efficiently and effectively serve the needs of our customers to accelerate the development of safe and effective drugs.”
CellzDirect's new corporate headquarters is located at 480 Hillsboro Street, Suite 130, Pittsboro, NC 27312 919-545-9959.
CellzDirect Finalizes $4.5m Equity Round to fund Expansion at North Carolina and Texas Laboratories
May 10, 2005
CellzDirect, Inc. raises over $4.5 million with the completion of a Series C Preferred private placement. Led by Valley Ventures, previous investors including Solstice Capital, Technology Funding and Village Ventures all participated in the round. New investor, Tucson based Grayhawk Venture Partners invested $1.5 million in this round as well. To date, CellzDirect has raised more than $10 million in financing. The company plans to use the funds to expand its North Carolina and Texas laboratories, which provide hepatic based cell products and in vitro drug metabolism services to the pharmaceutical industry.
CellzDirect Attracts Top Scientific Talent
April 1, 2005
CellzDirect, Inc. today announced that Dr. Jasminder Sahi has joined the company. Dr. Sahi will be responsible for customer scientific consultation, study design, report review, scientific presentations and presenting project study data. Dr. Sahi completed her Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Illinois in Chicago. Her academic research focused on Gut Transport and Signal Transduction. Dr. Sahi most recenty was a Senior Principal Scientist at Pfizer Global R&D with an 8 year tenure in the Drug Metabolism & PK Department. She earned a prestigious project/program leadership position at Pfizer. Dr. Sahi is recognized by peers as an expert in the areas of liver enzyme induction, transporters, and in vitro drug discovery & development strategy. She has published and/or contributed to 25 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Ed LeCluyse stated “We are extremely please to have an accomplish scientist such as Dr. Sahi join the CellzDirect team. She is a recognized expert in the field of hepatic research and will allow CellzDirect to add depth and expertise to the product and services offered to our customers.”
CellzDirect Acquires New Facility and Expands Texas GLP Laboratory
February 18, 2005
CellzDirect, Inc., a hepatic cell-based biotech company, announced today the opening of its newly acquired facility in Austin, Texas. The laboratory focuses on providing in vitro drug metabolism services in a GLP environment to the pharmaceutical industry and was acquired by CellzDirect in October, 2003, through an asset acquisition of CEDRA Corporation’s in vitro division.
Dr. Christopher Black, Director of In Vitro Services, stated “This new laboratory has allowed CellzDirect to more than double its lab space which will fuel growth in the services we offer to our customers. Our Austin based staff is thrilled with the investment by the company and the facility enhances our ability to bring new services on-line.”
The new facility is located at 1624 Headway Circle, Suite 100, Austin, Texas 78754, 512-623-3000.
