GeneGo Obtains NIH Grant

GeneGo has received grant from Natinal Institute of Health to develop an integrated systems pharmacology platform for pharmacogenomic research.

The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant will be used to develop a database and systems biology tool-set. It is specifically designed for the study of mutations and sequence heterogeneity in human genes and their controlling regions, as well as the biological consequences of sequence variations on disease susceptibility and drug response.

Richard Brennan, director of Toxicology at GeneGo, said: Genome-wide association studies and next-generation resequencing projects are already generating vast amounts of data on genetic factors contributing to disease susceptibility and variability in the pharmacological and toxicological effects of drugs.

What is lacking are powerful tools for researchers to be able to link these sequence variations to the specific mechanisms and biological pathways driving idiosyncratic outcomes. The product will smooth the progress of personalized medicine by facilitating the application of personal genetic profiling to identify optimal therapeutic strategies, he added.