Simulations Plus has announced that its DILIsym Services division has released RENAsym version 1A, the first version of its novel quantitative systems toxicology (QST) software for predicting and investigating drug-induced kidney injury.
RENAsym modelling supports key drug development decisions by predicting potential kidney injury risk of new drug candidates, according to a press release. The modelling also identifies the biochemical events that lead to injury caused by a drug and can thereby predict certain subgroups of patients at increased risk for drug-induced liver injury (DILI) from that drug.
The information from RENAsym modelling will help guide go/no-go decisions on drug development projects, potentially avoiding the disastrous financial effects of failed clinical trials, or better, providing assurances of a path to US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval. RENAsym was developed with small business innovation research (SBIR) funding from the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases division.
Brett Howell, president of the DILIsym Services division, said: “DILIsym continues to be used for high impact applications in the liver safety space. RENAsym, our newest QST platform, will allow us to help companies developing new therapeutics understand and avoid potential kidney injury issues as well, thereby expanding the reach of our software and associated consulting services into an important area.”
Jeffrey Woodhead, principal scientist and lead on the RENAsym programme, added: “RENAsym includes various mechanisms by which therapeutics can injure the kidneys of preclinical species and humans, as well as important biomarkers of kidney injury and function. It will greatly enhance our capabilities on the QST side, allowing us to solve a broader array of problems and client challenges. We look forward to iterating on this first version, and meeting with new prospective users and clients regarding its capabilities.”
