News and Press Releases

21 February 2012: Gentronix expands sales effort into Japan with Intralink Ltd.

Gentronix Ltd has cemented its three month trial into an ongoing contractual relationship with Intralink, who are now marketing and selling GreenScreen and BlueScreen technologies in Japan. Gentronix feels that the adoption of its technology by several major pharmaceutical, biotech, agrochemical, flavours and fragrances companies and the increasing globalisation of these markets, makes it timely to introduce Gentronix products into the Japanese market proactively. Intralink Ltd. operate successfully in China, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan and have an attractive business and selling model with their sales employees understanding the language, culture and business practices of both the buyer and the seller, as well as the clients technology. Gentronix Chairman and CEO, John Nicholson commented, “The Gentronix team are delighted with the professionalism and thoroughness that Intralink are displaying as they introduce us to key players in the important Japanese market.”

15 February 2012: Gentronix expands specialist sales team in US and Europe

Gentronix has expanded its sales teams with the appointments of Dorothy Zelent as Director of North American Operations and Simon Johns as European Sales Director. Reporting to Commercial Director, Dr. Steve Beasley, the company’s latest appointments lead the commercialization efforts in their respective territories.

With an extensive background in molecular biotechnology, Dorothy Zelent has over 10 years’ experience in academic and pharmaceutical research. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, she previously conducted research into diabetes drug discovery before joining GlaxoSmithKline as a senior scientist in cardiovascular drug discovery. Dorothy also brings broad project management skills to the role from previous positions as Director of Business Development for a number of clinical research technology companies. European Sales Director, Simon Johns, has an impressive technical background in microbiology and genetics, as well as 20+ years’ international commercial experience supporting clients in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and chemical sectors. With his early research activities including the development of genotoxicity imaging systems, Simon has since worked extensively within the pre-clinical toxicology sector for several major global CROs in both Europe and the US.

Dr. Steve Beasley, Commercial Director at Gentronix comments, “Both Dorothy and Simon are experienced commercial professionals with a wealth of life sciences expertise, and we welcome them to the Gentronix team. We’re sure they will both make a significant contribution to the company’s strategy of growing the business, not only through the commercialization of our proprietary technologies, but also by expanding our service provision and continuing to establish collaborations in existing and new sectors.”

22 December 2011: Gentronix showcases technology and new partnerships.

Link to a video presentation by Steve Beasley Commercial Director for Gentronix

ELRIG attracted over a 1000 delegates to its 2011 Drug Discovery conference held in Manchester UK. Gentronix and its technology was well represented in the Exhibition hall, on the speaker platforms and in the poster session. Steve Beasley presented on attrition rate reduction using GreenScreen and BlueScreen, complemented by poster and lecture contributions from GSK illustrating how BlueScreen HC has been validated in 384 well format and how it is being used as part of GSKs attrition rate reduction programme.

02 November 2011: Gentronix teams up with Paris-based BioQuanta to distribute Mitoxis - Functional Metabolic Platform.

Gentronix Limited, the specialist genotoxicity assay provider and BioQuanta SA, a French company engaged in the implementation of predictive and personalized medicine, are pleased to announce the signing of a commercial agreement covering the commercialization of the Mitoxis® functional metabolomics platform from BioQuanta. Under the terms of the agreement Gentronix will become a worldwide distributor of Mitoxis® services giving customers access to over 70 discrete assays central to a deeper understanding of cell health. This comprehensive range of assays covers key functional metabolisms important for the early detection of toxicity liabilities, including the electron-transport chain, oxidative stress, cellular energy status, inflammation and cell death.

Mitoxis® has been developed on highly automated analyzers used in clinical biology, and is different from systems based on microplate technology, thus delivers results with the unparalleled precision of clinical diagnostics. The speed and accuracy of the Mitoxis® approach allows the simultaneous analysis of many parameters (> 30) on the same reduced sample volume of < 5µl, with limited or no sample preparation. With an overall CV < 4%, inter-sample variability is lowered, leading to increased confidence in the results and a better understanding of inter-dependencies between parameters. Mitoxis® provides unmatched results to evaluate side effects of exogenous molecules (therapeutic, cosmetic or industrial) on the main transversal metabolic pathways of the cell. The platform was developed to meet the same performance criteria of standard operating procedures in place for clinical biology and is the result of expertise gained from performing millions of tests per year routinely in a French public hospital.

Rémi Rabeuf, CEO at BioQuanta commented, "We are pleased to conclude this agreement with Gentronix, given the synergies between our services and solutions contributing to improve the development of safer drugs and ultimately better patient management. This partnership will contribute to commercialize Mitoxis® internationally and expand our market access". Dr. Steve Beasley, Commercial Director at Gentronix said, "This agreement allows Gentronix to further expand its range of services across all of the sectors we currently serve to provide our customers access to a wide range of cell health assays of unparalleled accuracy. We have an expanding customer base that will benefit from access to these highly accurate metabolomics assays".

13 October 2011: Gentronix Becomes a Distributor of Litron Laboratories MicroFlow® Range of Products in Europe.

Gentronix Limited, the specialist genotoxicity assay provider and Litron Laboratories, leader in flow cytometry based micronucleus detection are pleased to announce the appointment of Gentronix as non-exclusive distributor of Litron’s MicroFlow® suite of products in Europe and Scandinavia. Under the terms of the agreement, Gentronix will become a distributor of the full range of in vivo MicroFlow® products, including Peripheral Blood, Bone Marrow and Archive kits as well as in vitro MicroFlow® kits suitable for both attached and suspension cell lines.

Drew Tometsko, Litron’s Director of Business Development said “This partnership is a natural continuation of the work we have been doing with this impressive group. We look forward to continuing our relationship with Gentronix far into the future and firmly believe this will be a mutually beneficial agreement to both our companies. With their efforts, we expect the opportunities for MicroFlow® adoption throughout these regions will be significant.” Dr. Steve Beasley, Commercial Director at Gentronix said, “The addition of the MicroFlow® product range is an exciting expansion for us. It helps us further support the genetic toxicology profiling and safety communities, complements our GreenScreen® HC and BlueScreen HC™ GADD45a reporter assay kits and builds on our existing micronucleus testing service. We look forward to working closely with Litron Laboratories as we bring increased exposure of their products across Europe and Scandinavia. ”

04 March 2011: Gentronix Expands Early Genotoxicity Screening Capability with Ames MPF™ Screening Service

Gentronix Limited, the specialist genotoxicity assay provider, is pleased to announce the addition of the Ames MPF™ screen to its growing portfolio of genotoxicity screening services.

The bacterial mutagenicity testing service from Gentronix Ltd, offers the opportunity for early identification of compounds likely to produce positive results in the regulatory Ames mutagenicity test. This allows prioritization of compounds for development, saving time and money. The microplate format requires only the low, milligram quantities of test article that are available in discovery and development.

Ames MPF™ is an adapted microfluctuation method for performing the Ames bacterial mutagenicity test particularly useful for early screening applications. Hisˉ or Trpˉ tester strains are incubated with test samples and scored for colony growth, indicating reversion to His+ or Trp+ phenotype has occurred.

In this liquid format of the test, small cultures are scored in 384-well microplates using an indicator medium colour change (purple to yellow).

A test agent is assayed across 6 dose levels with concurrent zero-dose and positive controls, all performed in triplicate to provide statistical robustness. The test is operated both with and without S9 exogenous metabolism.

Dr. Steve Beasley, Commercial Director at Gentronix said, “Early identification of genotoxic compounds saves time and money. We have developed an exceptional capability with our proprietary GreenScreen HC and BlueScreen HC reporter based technology and see the introduction of our Ames MPF screening service as providing an excellent integrated approach to help our customers increase their research efficiency”

Ames MPF™ is a trademark of Xenometrix AG.

09 December 2010: ADVANCELL partners with Gentronix to Offer Services to the Cosmetics and Personal Care Sector

Advanced in vitro Cell Technologies S.A., providers of customized research and ADMET services to the cosmetics and pharmaceutical industry, is delighted to announce that it has partnered with Gentronix, specialists in genotoxicity screening, to offer GreenScreen HC and BlueScreen HC assays via contract service.

GreenScreen HC and BlueScreen HC are accurate and rapid human cell-based assays for determining potential genotoxic liability in ingredients of personal care and cosmetic products, and in new chemical entities in drug development. The assays have a low compound requirement, rapid turnaround time and have been shown to be highly predictive of in vivo genotoxicity and genotoxic carcinogenesis.

Both assays use a p53 competent, human-derived TK6 cell line with either a fluorescent (GFP, Green Fluorescent Protein) or luminescent (Gaussia Luciferase) endpoint, to detect the up-regulation of GADD45a, a key element in the cell’s orchestrated response to DNA damage and genotoxic stress. Both assays can also be conducted in the presence of S9 fraction to detect pro-genotoxins. The GADD45a reporter system provides both high sensitivity and specificity and detects all classes of genotoxins.

Compound requirements are typically just 10 mg or less, with a turnaround time of 10 working days for analysis and comprehensive reporting. The BlueScreen HC assay is especially adept at analysing samples with high autofluorescence, commonly found in cosmetic ingredients, which otherwise confound other assays with fluorescence endpoints.

Dr. Maria-Jesús Zurbano, R&D Director of ADVANCELL’s Alternative Testing Unit highlighted “The recent seventh amendment of the Cosmetics Directive and cessation of animal testing is focussing the industry to look for ever more accurate in vitro approaches to predicting likely in vivo genotoxic liabilities. The GreenScreen HC and BlueScreen HC assays are ideally suited to fulfil this role, and their ability to be deployed early in the discovery process means valuable information on perceived hazards can be acted upon before significant investment in product development.”

21 October 2010: LGC Standards partners with Gentronix

LGC Standards has partnered with Gentronix to bring human cell-based genotoxicity testing kits to drug discovery researchers.

LGC Standards is delighted to announce the addition of human cell genotoxicity testing kits (GreenScreen HC and BlueScreen HC) from Gentronix to its portfolio of life science research and drug discovery products. GreenScreen HC and BlueScreen HC are human cell based assays for determining the potential genotoxic effects of new drug candidates earlier in the discovery process, using a human based model which has been shown to be more predictive of the in vivo response than traditional tests based on prokaryotic cells.

Early accurate screening conducted with GreenScreen HC or BlueScreen HC human (TK6) cell based assays gives rapid results. Both assays use patented gene reporter systems with either Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) or Gaussia Luciferase (G.Luc) to detect up-regulation of GADD45a, a key P53 dependant response element in the DNA stress pathway. The assays require only milligram quantities of material and give results in just 48 hours. Both assays can also be conducted in the presence of S9 to detect pro-genotoxins.

The GADD45a reporter system provides high sensitivity and specificity, ideally suited for the accurate detection of all classes of genotoxins with very low levels of false positive results.

Dr Matthias Brommer, Director, LGC Standards commented, “We are delighted to add the Gentronix genotox kits to our drug discovery products and services portfolio. The application of human cell models combined with different reporter formats offer significant benefits to the drug discovery community and we are pleased to announce the expanded scope of our collaboration with the Gentronix team.”

John Nicholson, Chairman and Chief Executive of Gentronix said, “We have seen significant increase in the demand for GreenScreen HC and BlueScreen HC reagent kits and look forward to working with LGC Standards to bring these important assays to an even wider audience.”

15 September 2010: Charles River Now Offers the Gentronix BlueScreen HC Genotoxicity Screening Test

Gentronix is pleased to announce that Charles River Laboratories, a leading global preclinical contract research organization, now offers BlueScreen HC Screening services for the early detection of genotoxicity.

This new initiative provides customers of Charles River with the high-accuracy, low-compound use and rapid results generation required to identify genotoxic problem compounds earlier in discovery and preclinical development, thereby reducing later stage attrition and increasing the number of candidates progressing into development and the clinic.

BlueScreen HC uses Gaussia luciferase to detect the up-regulation of a key reporter gene, GADD45a, in response to genotoxic stress and can detect all known classes of genotoxins. In addition, Charles River will also offer BlueScreen HC with metabolic activation for the detection of pro-genotoxins, providing valuable additional information for clients.

Dr. Brian Bathgate, Senior Vice President, Global Preclinical Services at Charles River, commented, “Charles River is committed to providing exceptional, leading-edge services to our customers in order to help them reduce attrition and increase efficiency in their drug development programs. The introduction of BlueScreen HC will allow Charles River’s customers to access an innovative new technology to assist them with the discovery and development of new drug compounds faster and more cost effectively.”

Dr. Steve Beasley, Commercial Director at Gentronix, added, “We have been impressed with the technical excellence of the Charles River team and the diligence with which they have validated their BlueScreen HC testing operations. Charles River is well-positioned as an industry leader to bring these new technologies to customers across a wide range of sectors.”

19 July 2010: Gentronix Ltd. Announces Rights Issue Completion

Gentronix Ltd, the Manchester based Genotoxicity and Predictive Toxicology Company announces that it has recently successfully completed a £610k Rights Issue, fully underwritten by its two principal investors, NVM Private Equity and YFM Private Equity and positively supported by several of its private shareholders. The company has raised the cash to provide working capital to fund exciting new business opportunities for the next 12-18 months. The company's trading performance continues to improve positively and as it expands both its IP and service businesses it will use part of the proceeds of the rights issue to invest in capital expenditure and new personnel ahead of anticipated further growth in market demand from both product groups, as it positions itself to become the leading European provider of genotoxicity assays and services.

Chairman and CEO of Gentronix, John Nicholson, commented: ”We are seeing an increase in demand for specialist toxicology services and products and the successful completion of this fund raising will allow us to respond to our customers needs”.

10 March 2010: Gentronix launches BlueScreen HC and Expands Services with the Comet Assay

Gentronix has launched its innovative early genotoxicity screening assay BlueScreen HC and an in vitro Comet testing service. Introduced at the recent Society of Toxicology 49th Annual Meeting and ToxExpo in Salt Lake City, these cell-based products and services enable accurate and reliable early identification of compounds likely to induce genotoxic stress and damage. This helps reduce attrition rates in drug discovery and allows the prioritisation of compounds for further development in the R&D pipeline.

BlueScreen HC is a human cell-based reporter assay which requires only low milligram quantities of sample compounds. Providing a simple and effective alternative to fluorescence reporter systems the new Bluescreen HC assay monitors the expression of the P53 linked GADD45a gene, upregulated in response to genotoxic stress. The assay produces a flash luminescent output through the use of the Gaussia luciferase reporter gene. For ease and speed of use, the BlueScreen HC assay is designed for 96-well microplates, enabling 4 compounds to be screened in multiple dilutions per plate. Additionally, the assay can be performed with ‘S9’ incubation for the detection of progenotoxins requiring metabolic activation. Available in a kit format, or through Gentronix’s screening service with a turnaround time of just two weeks, the BlueScreen HC assay provides full flexibility of use for drug discovery researchers.

Gentronix has also announced a new in vitro Comet assay service to address the need for fast and accurate genotoxicity testing. Providing insight into the mechanism of genotoxic damage, the Comet assay is an increasingly popular choice to support in vivo studies. The mechanistic information from this reliable in vitro assay can be used to follow up compounds that have produced positive results from GreenScreen HC or BlueScreen HC assays. With a rapid turnaround time and very low compound requirement, the Comet assay service is an efficient and cost-effective method for early identification of compounds likely to exhibit genotoxic liability.

03 March 2010: Gentronix Signs 3 Year Agreement with GlaxoSmithKline for GreenScreen and BlueScreen Assays

Gentronix Limited Manchester, UK announced today that it has entered into a three year agreement with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to provide GreenScreen HC and BlueScreen HC genotoxicity assays for use by GSK in genotoxicity screening. This agreement extends the existing relationship between Gentronix and GSK in respect of GreenScreen HC, to include the use by GSK of BlueScreen HC in 384 well format, the latest Gentronix human cell reporter-based assay for compound profiling.

GreenScreen HC was the first human cell-based assay technology that combined high sensitivity for detecting genotoxic chemicals with high specificity for reducing false positive results. This assay gives rapid results, provides additional data for safety profiling and consumes very low quantities of compound. BlueScreen HC is the new Luciferase based assay that combines all of the attributes of GreenScreen HC with the ability to be run in 384 well micro-titre plate format. This new assay provides a viable route to early detection of genotoxicity, which is known to be associated with compound attrition. The proprietary reporter based assays have been demonstrated to detect known classes of genotoxic agent, and utilize Green Fluorescent Protein or Gaussia Luciferase in order to detect GADD45a up-regulation, which is a key indicator of DNA damage.

John Nicholson, CEO and Chairman of Gentronix said, "We are delighted to announce this further agreement with GSK. It provides additional validation for our technology and provides an opportunity for our customers to take advantage of the benefits of early liability screening for more cost effective drug discovery and development."

10 June 2009: Gentronix and Apredica Ally to Create Predictive-Toxicology Service

Gentronix Limited, a genotoxicity product and services provider, and Apredica, an ADME-Tox contract research laboratory, today announced a strategic alliance to provide drug-discovery support services in the area of predictive toxicology. The objective of the alliance is to reduce the failure rate of drugs in late development, particularly due to toxicity, thereby improving the efficiency of drug discovery and increasing assurance that new drugs are safe. “Gentronix and Apredica have worked closely together for over a year,” said Dr Katya Tsaioun, President of Apredica. “We have developed a joint predictive toxicology offering based on a set of assays that accurately predict many known mechanisms of human toxicities.” In addition to the joint service offering, UK-based Gentronix and US-based Apredica have also agreed to become mutual agents.

The alliance offers a new suite of predictive in vitro toxicology services to help improve the speed and efficiency of drug development. Commenting on the announcement, John Nicholson, Chairman and CEO of Gentronix said, “Early prediction of genotoxicity and attrition-rate improvement is critical to the success of drug discovery. Our alliance with Apredica allows our customers to concentrate resources on compounds most likely to succeed in development, and to select the best candidates for clinical trials sooner." Drug discovery and development programs see many drug candidates fail in clinical-trial stages, which are the most costly and time-consuming stages of drug development. Dr Tsaioun explains: “Many of these failures could have been avoided through the application of early ADME testing and toxicity profiling, which can quickly and cost-effectively identify drug candidates with characteristics that would preclude regulatory approval. Early identification of these sure-to-fail candidates saves not only millions of dollars, but also months or years of research time that could have gone towards producing a successful drug candidate. Our joint service offering with Gentronix will provide new information that drug-discovery teams can use to reduce the risk of expensive, later stage failure, to increase the likelihood of program success, and to accelerate their programs towards IND.” Reducing attrition rates in drug development, especially the later stages of development, is critical to increasing the success and efficiency of drug discovery.

24 February 2009: Gentronix Agrees Genotoxicity Safety Screening Agreement with GSK for GreenScreen HC

Gentronix Limited has announced that it has entered into an agreement to provide GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) with its novel genotoxicity detection assay GreenScreen HC. GreenScreen HC is the first human cell based assay technology that combines high sensitivity for detecting genotoxic chemicals with high specificity for reducing false positive results. The assay is amenable to high throughput screening, provides additional data for safety profiling, consumes very low quantities of compound and gives rapid results.

John Nicholson, CEO and Chairman of Gentronix said "We have worked with GSK previously on the early validation of our technology and are delighted that they will be incorporating GreenScreen HC into their safety evaluation activities. This agreement provides important validation of our technology and demonstrates the value we bring to our customers". Financial terms of the agreement were not released.

04 September 2008: Gentronix Goes East

Innovative biotechnology company Gentronix (Manchester, UK) is pleased to announce a new agreement with LSG Corporation (Tokyo, Japan). The deal enables introduction of the GreenScreen® HC range of human cell-based genotoxicity assays access across Japan, allowing scientists to accelerate the pace of drug discovery and development. LSG has over 30 years’ experience providing researchers the tools and products required to solve even the toughest challenges within the life science arena. As a subsidiary of EPS Co., Ltd., one of the largest clinical research organisations (CROs) in Japan, LSG is the ideal partner to promote the benefits of GreenScreen assays in this key market.

Commercial director at Gentronix, Steve Beasley, comments: “We are delighted to have signed this agency agreement with LSG Corporation. LSG’s experience and extensive contacts in the Japanese life sciences and toxicology sectors will help to further develop our customer base in this important market.”

05 June 2008: Gentronix use Abcellute Preserved Hepatocytes to Enhance in vitro Genotoxicity Testing

Safety assessment in drug discovery requires the in vitro genotoxicity assessment of metabolites. This is currently achieved by incubating compounds with liver extracts (‘S9’), because when genotoxicity tests were developed there was no reliable supply of fresh hepatocytes. Being able to use fresh hepatocytes for testing metabolites, instead of extracts with their limited metabolic activity, could be a major advance. This possibility has now moved a significant step closer. In the first stage of a major collaboration, Gentronix have successfully co-cultured their GreenScreen HC genotoxicity reporter cells with fresh hepatocytes preserved in Abcellute’s matrix in the presence of test material.

The results were presented by Gentronix at the recent US Society of Toxicology Meeting. According to Professor Richard Walmsley of Gentronix these results promise a major breakthrough; “We are extremely encouraged by these results. Our initial work shows that the GreenScreen HC assay can be used to assess the genotoxicity of metabolites generated by either S9 extracts or non-frozen preserved primary hepatocytes provided by Abcellute Ltd. The predictable differences in metabolism provided by S9 extracts and hepatocytes are readily apparent from the results - and represent a refinement in the use of animal material. It is now conceivable that preserved human hepatocytes could be routinely used in pre-clinical safety assessment.” Dr Nathan Griffiths, Abcellute’s Chief Scientific Officer, said: “The results indicate the potential for our matrix in this exciting area. They match similar evaluations in our core preclinical market conducted by leading pharmaceutical companies, contract research organisations and academic institutes in Europe, the USA and Japan”.

02 June 2008: Manchester Scientists Highlighted for Contribution to UK Economy

Scientists and bioscience research groups from the University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University have been highlighted for their contribution to the UK’s economic and social wellbeing.

At a recent event at HM Treasury, "Bioscience: Biomillions", run by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), Gentronix was among a wide range of research and innovation output from the two Manchester Universities highlighted for their economic and social impact.

10 March 2008: Gentronix Launches New Genotoxic Metabolite Detection Assay

GreenScreen HC, the a human cell-based genotoxicity screening assay used in drug discovery programmes during lead compound optimisation and candidate selection, is now available with an S9 protocol to detect genotoxic metabolites. Potential pharmaceutical compounds which only present a genotoxicity hazard after metabolism, usually by the liver, are known as pro-genotoxins. The utility of GreenScreen HC has now been extended with a new protocol to detect pro-genotoxins as well as all common mechanistic classes of genotoxin including mutagens, clastogens, aneugens, and both topoisomerase and polymerase inhibitors.

Link to published paper on the GreenScreen HC S9 assay.

12 November 2007: Gentronix Announces Addition to its Executive Team and Board of Directors

Gentronix Ltd, leaders in cellular biosensor systems for pre-clinical genetic toxicology announced today the appointment of Dr Steven Beasley as Commercial Director and member of the board. Steve joins Gentronix with over twenty years experience of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry gained from both research and commercial roles. Previously CEO of bioscience knowledge organization bioKneX and Chief Business Officer of De Novo Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Steve will head the commercial operations of Gentronix as it moves forward with its growth plans for GreenScreen HC and its next generation products.

John Nicholson, Chairman and CEO of Gentronix said, “The team and I are delighted that someone of Steve’s experience is in place to lead the next exciting commercialization phase of the company’s development”. Steve Beasley commented on his appointment “The level of scientific validation that Gentronix and its customers have generated for its next generation human cell based genotoxicity system GreenScreen HC is excellent. An increasing number of companies are adopting Gentronix technology as a cost effective method of ensuring that only the best compounds without genotoxic liability, are progressed to lead optimization and pre-clinical development. I am excited about the opportunities that Gentronix presents and look forward to working with the board, the company and customers as we move Gentronix forward.”

01 November 2007: GreenScreen HC presented to European Partnership for Alternative Approaches to Animal Testing

Prize winning work by GlaxoSmithKline and Gentronix Ltd in improving the identification of cancer causing chemicals using GreenScreen HC was presented to parliamentarians at the annual meeting of the European Commission Partnership on Alternatives to Animal Testing (EPAA). The cell-based genotoxicity screening assay from Gentronix, GreenScreen HC, is much more accurate for these specific tests than the existing cell culture assays, thus far fewer chemicals have then to be tested in animals; tests which are currently necessary to see whether chemicals actually have the potential to cause cancer. The work was presented at the EPAA annual meeting in Brussels in November 2007.

12 September 2007: BioReliance Launches Next-Generation Genotoxicity Screening Service

BioReliance Corporation, a leading contract services organization for the biopharmaceutical and pharmaceutical industries, has contracted with Gentronix to offer their GreenScreen HC in vitro assay as a major part of BioReliance’s portfolio of genotoxicity screening services. GreenScreen HC, in conjunction with Ames II assays, allows pharmaceutical companies to test for genotoxic potential earlier in the preclinical development process, using only a few milligrams of test compound as opposed to the gram quantities required by current ICH regulatory tests.
Click here to download service flyer.

03 March 2007: NVM Invests £1 million in Gentronix

NVM Private Equity Limited (NVM) has committed £1 million as part of a new funding round of £1.4 million into Gentronix.

Tim Levett from NVM who led the deal comments: "The early detection kits which Gentronix has developed address a critical lack of accuracy in the regulatory screening tests. Without this, the re-testing and development of a drug that is later thrown out is a time consuming and expensive business. We are delighted to be investing in Gentronix, helping them further develop screening kits and also manage the intellectual property of their cutting edge portfolio."

02 March 2007: Gentronix Wins NC3Rs Award

Gentronix wins an award at an event to showcase the research sponsored by the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs).

Gentronix has received an award for most successfully communicating to Parliamentarians their work to reduce the use of animals in research and chemical testing, at a showcase event in Portcullis House, London. The prize was won by Richard Walmsley and Nick Billinton, Gentronix Ltd and Paul Hastwell, GlaxoSmithKline for their work in improving the identification of cancer causing chemicals using human cell cultures.

01 August 2006: Next Generation Human Cell Genotoxicity Screen Unveiled at DDT 2006.

Gentronix unveiled its novel high-throughput genotoxicity screening assay at Drug Discovery Technology (August 7-10 Boston, MA). Utilising human cells, GreenScreen HC is the first in vitro mammalian cell assay suitable for HTS. It has a unique combination of both exceptionally high sensitivity and specificity.

01 July 2006: Gentronix Secures NC3R Grant Funding

Gentronix awarded a grant from The National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research.

Drs Richard Walmsley and Nick Billinton have been awarded a grant for £133,000 for the development of a new human cell genotoxicity assay to reduce the use of live animals in drug development.

01 July 2006: GreenScreen for Environmental Monitoring Launched

Gentronix has launched GreenScreen® EM, for the rapid biomonitoring of genotoxic and acutely toxic contaminants in environmental samples.

01 May 2006: NeuroSolutions enters into a Collaboration Agreement with Gentronix

NeuroSolutions enters into a Collaboration Agreement with Gentronix to use GreenScreen for the Development of NSL-105.

NeuroDiscovery Ltd (ASX: NDL) a neurology-focused research and development company, is pleased to announce its 100% subsidiary, NeuroSolutions Ltd (NeuroSolutions) has entered into a collaborative agreement with Gentronix Ltd (Gentronix) to accelerate the pre-clinical development of NSL-105. Gentronix (Manchester, UK), is a developer of screening assays to identify potential genetic toxicology early in the drug discovery process.

Pursuant to the agreement both companies will seek to assess the genetic toxicology of NSL-105 by using GreenScreen, Gentronix's commercially available yeast-based assay, which is a proven early screening tool in the drug development process. In particular, the assay's high specificity is demonstrated by the extremely low incidence of false positives compared to other available tests.

NeuroDiscovery Chairman, Dr Mark Treherne said "We are delighted to collaborate with Gentronix and this agreement will provide us with a significant opportunity to accelerate the development of NSL-105 to build an in-depth pipeline of innovative products for the treatment of a variety of painful medical conditions. Recent forecasts predict a global market value for neuropathic pain treatments of over US$4 billion by 2007."

01 April 2006: Gentronix Secures BBSRC R&D Award

Gentronix (Manchester, UK), developer of screening assays to identify genetic toxins early in the drug discovery process, has been awarded a £287,000 Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) grant from the UK’s Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).

The purpose of the two-year grant is to assist small businesses initiate or develop new research programmes, and will provide Gentronix with two scientists, cell culture facilities, and supporting laboratory instrumentation at its Manchester Incubator Core Technology Facility premises. GreenScreen GC, the company’s commercially available yeast-based assay, is already proving a valuable early screening tool in the drug development process. In particular the assay’s high specificity is demonstrated by the extremely low incidence of false positives compared to other available tests.

The SBRI grant will enable Gentronix to build on this early success, and research and develop additional assays using alternative cell lines. The aim is to increase screening sensitivity so that no genetically toxic compounds are missed whilst retaining the high specificity required, ensuring potentially valuable lead compounds are not eliminated from further development.

Link to article in BBSRC Business magazine (page 7)

03 May 2005: GreenScreen Helps Johnson & Johnson in Early Identification of Genotoxic Compounds.

Research published in the journal Mutagenesis has confirmed the value to Johnson & Johnson of Gentronix GreenScreen GC assay as an effective early screening test for genotoxicity in lead drug candidates.

Link to article.

01 May 2005: Gentronix Completes Fund Raising Round.

Gentronix Ltd has completed a £1m fund raising round supported by YFM Private Equity Ltd., Manchester Technology Fund Ltd., The University of Manchester IP Ltd. and Private Investors. The company, whose customers include two of the world's top five pharmaceutical companies, will use the funds to develop further its customer base on an international basis, via new sales and laboratory resources. The Chairman, John Nicholson, said that "Gentronix is delighted to have the backing of its new investors and is looking forward to developing the business and the technology vigorously."

01 April 2004: Gentronix wins "Best Environmental Technology" Award

Gentronix wins "Best Environmental Technology" Award for GreenScreen EM at the Northwest Business Environment Awards 2004 ceremony.

Awarded for the design and production of the GreenScreen EM assay and associated instrumentation for the monitoring of toxic and genotoxic contaminants in surface waters and soils. The product's aim is to improve water quality, reduce the risk to the public from exposure to toxic pollutants and enable industries to comply the increasing legislation requiring the monitoring of effluent discharges into the environment.

01 April 2004: Yeast Rises to Space Station Project

In a proof of principle experiment, GreenScreen yeast cells have been sent up to the International Space Station to examine the affect of DNA damaging radiation. The yeast is contained in an instrument devised and built in the UMIST Department of Instrumentation and Analytical Science. The instrument, code named FORRAY (Fluorescence Orbital Radiation Risk Assessment using Yeast), blasted off as part of the Soyuz payload, from the Russian Space Agency's launch site in Kazakstan on the 19th April 2004 for a 10 day stay on the ISS.

01 November 2002: Gentronix Honoured at Northwest’s First Biotechnology Awards

Gentronix has been honoured at the first ever Northwest Biotechnology Awards Ceremony. The event was hosted by Bionow, the biotechnology cluster development programme of the Northwest Development Agency. Gentronix won Biotechnology Project of the Year for the development of the company's first product, GreenScreen GC, while Dr Andrew Knight and Dr Nick Billinton from Gentronix, jointly received the award for Young Biotechnologist of the Year.

01 April 2002: Gentronix Participates in BIO-WISE Demonstrator Project

Gentronix Participates in BIO-WISE Demonstrator Project for Assessing Toxicity in Industrial Effluents.

A BIO-WISE Demonstrator Project grant worth £68,000 has been awarded to a 15-month project involving a collaboration of chemical companies from the Specialised Organic Chemicals Sector Association (SOCSA), three biosensor suppliers including Gentronix Ltd, the Environment Agency and AstraZeneca Ltd.