Novamass Analytical - Preclinical Contract Research for Drug Discovery and Development

Novamass Ltd is the biggest ADME service provider in the Nordic countries with a quickly expanding customer portfolio in Europe.

Our strengths are the most comprehensive in vitro ADME service battery extending from the hit-to-lead molecule selection all away to final characterisation of a candidate drug, outstanding expertise in metabolite identification and application of Intelligent Throughput Services (ITS) ideology.

ITS provides a deeper and inter-phenomenal approach to ADME studies and is applicable to a smaller number (1 to 20) of molecules. ITS relies heavily on tailoring study protocols in order to optimise incubations, as well as study and analytical conditions. With the ITS we are more efficient highlighting potential winner molecules and eliminating unsuitable ones. In addition to the commonly available metabolism and permeation we also offer some hard-to-find and even unique services, such as nuclear receptor activation (for prediction of a molecules ability to induce CYP enzyme expression) and placental perfusion.

METABOLISM SERVICES

For our key expertise area, metabolism studies, we have a wide variety of different liver, and other organ, preparations available for various species, ranging from human liver homogenate, skin microsomes to animal hepatocytes. We can help our customer to reveal, for example, kinetic metabolic stability and metabolite formation of a parent, and to identify the rate limiting CYP or UTG enzymes. Predictions of in vivo kinetics and selection of TOX animal belong to the services, too. To elucidate metabolite structures we are equipped with LC-MS and NMR instrumentation.

PERMEATION SERVICES

To simulate your compound’s absorption into and through human cells we have a comprehensive battery of studies to offer. In addition to regular Caco-2, MDCK and transporter interaction assays, we can perform more specialised studies, for example permeation of inhaleables through the respiratory epithelium with Calu-3 cell line. For BBB permeability we have both in vitro and in vivo models available.

DRUG-DRUG INTERACTION SERVICES

We have developed our own CYP probe cocktail to observe the inhibition and induction potential of your parent molecule. Altogether 10 known probes for 9 metabolising CYPs reveal interaction to 14 metabolic transformations. As a screening method for induction a nuclear receptor activation study is available for 5 different receptors. In addition to CYP inhibition we perform also UGT1A1 and aromatase inhibition studies.

IN VIVO ADME SERVICES

Mouse, rat, rabbit, and dog are available for DMPK studies supporting the 3R’s principles. Services include bioavailability and metabolite identification, as well as pharmacokinetic calculations for parent and metabolites. We can perform tissue homogenate (brain, muscle, bone, etc.) analysis and structure elucidation of metabolites, and before the actual studies we can help you to choose the right vehicle for animal dosing.

PHYSICO-CHEMICAL CHARACTERISATION

To optimise the study protocols we need to find out some basic property parameters of your molecule. Following studies serve as examples: solubility, logD, pKa, plasma protein binding (8 species), plasma stability and impurity identification.

Besides the ADME studies we are also excel in natural product analysis for subjects such as extract profiling, active compound quantification and structural elucidation of unknowns.

Please, visit our website for a more comprehensive overview.