About

Oral delivery is a conventional route for many drugs. Understanding intestinal absorption and metabolism plays a significant role in assessing the potential for success of an orally administered candidate drug. As an initial site for potential adverse effects, determining the risk for gastrointestinal toxicity is critical. Drug-induced gastrointestinal toxicities encompass a category of common adverse events encountered in clinical trials. They include events such as diarrhea, constipation, vomiting, nausea, and abdominal pain. These events limit both the quality of life of patients and the ability to achieve efficacious drug exposures. Identification of such potential liabilities early in preclinical drug discovery remains a challenge across the industry primarily due to a paucity of adequate human in vitro models and predictive endpoints.

The IQ MPS Affiliate seeks novel gastrointestinal MPS technology platforms with clear, mechanistically based rationale that not only recapitulate the human intestinal environment in terms of functional capabilities, but also demonstrate improved clinical predictivity for key ADME endpoints and toxicological responses. A single model that addresses all responses, while desirable, is not the sole objective. Emphasis on endpoint-specific predictivity of clinical responses and proven utility will be the most critical for potential future adoption of these systems in drug discovery and development.