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University of Surrey to use Cambridge Cell Networks' ToxWiz software to assist their research on Safety Assessment

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02.10.2007

Cambridge Cell Networks (CCnet), a leading in-silico systems biology and toxicology company is pleased to announce a collaborative venture with the University of Surrey.

Under the agreement, toxicologists at Surrey will be using CCnet's unique ToxWiz software to assist their cutting edge research on drug and chemical safety. ToxWiz is a computer-based network of more than 2,500 annotated pathways and clusters linking genomics and proteomics data with biochemical pathways and cellular information

Professor Peter Goldfarb, director of the University's Centre for Toxicology, commented: "We will be using ToxWiz because it is one of the few software systems that can accurately explore the rapidly expanding knowledge base deriving both from prior research in toxicology and the current systems biology revolution. This will enable us to make earlier predictions about the safety of proposed new therapeutic agents and industrial chemicals.

Additionally, ToxWiz is designed to predict the possible cellular mechanisms of any indicated toxicity and should help us plan our subsequent experimental work better. This would result in a significant reduction in the use of test animals (an objective to which Surrey has contributed for many years) and also make the testing of such chemicals in man even safer. CCnet are clearly focused on novel solutions to the challenges facing toxicologists today, not only in terms of developing safe new treatments for diseases such as diabetes and cancer, but also in responding to the EU requirement for the retesting of chemicals to which the public are exposed in their everyday lives. We look forward to a productive collaboration."

Dr Mariana Vaschetto, Director of Cambridge Cell Networks commented: "Professor Goldfarb and his colleagues at the University of Surrey are leaders in the field of molecular toxicology and we are thrilled that they will be using ToxWiz to aid their cutting edge research. We are sure that their feedback will also be invaluable in helping us design the next generation of our software. With this contribution from an internationally recognised academic group, we will be able to target the continuing development of ToxWiz on meeting the increasingly rigorous needs of modern safety science."

Peter La | Source: alphagalileo
Further information: www.surrey.ac.uk

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