PsychoGenics Inc. today announced the establishment of an exclusive
alliance with Dr. Jan Kehr, an internationally recognized expert in
experimental neuropharmacology, to provide specialized microdialysis
services to complement PsychoGenics’ in vivo testing capabilities.
“I am very much looking forward to working with PsychoGenics and
capitalizing on the opportunity to complement its vast array of contract
research services, proprietary technologies and drug discovery
capabilities”
Dr. Kehr has held prominent positions at the world renowned Karolinska
Institute for almost 15 years and currently holds an adjunct senior
scientist position with the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology.
Dr. Kehr’s expertise in microdialysis, biosensors, and high-sensitivity
HPLC techniques for neurochemical analysis will complement and broaden
PsychoGenics’ in vivo and in vitro capabilities, in the
identification and analysis of CNS drug candidates for its numerous
clients, partners, and internal drug discovery programs.
“I am very much looking forward to working with PsychoGenics and
capitalizing on the opportunity to complement its vast array of contract
research services, proprietary technologies and drug discovery
capabilities,” said Dr. Jan Kehr, Ph.D.
PsychoGenics, together with Dr. Kehr, will provide a broad suite of
microdialysis and analytical methods, including rapid measurements of
biogenic amines such as dopamine, noradrenaline, and serotonin, as well
as other neurotransmitters such as acetylcholine, glutamate, aspartate,
GABA, and glycine. In addition, microdialysis measurements of the
concentrations of an experimental drug in both plasma and brain can be
performed and compared temporally to the effect of the drug on brain
neurochemistry, with such pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic comparisons
being useful for translational medicine. Furthermore, a wide range of
analytical services for the measurement of molecules recovered by
microdialysis and other methods from brain and other organs or
preparations will be offered; these include adenosine, nitric oxide,
kynurenic acid, reactive oxygen species, glucose, lactate, as well as
cyclic-AMP and –GMP, neuropeptides, cytokines, hormones and growth
factors. Another innovative experimental platform now available through
PsychoGenics is the use of microdialysis in a behaving animal, which
allows direct correlation of transmitter changes with ongoing behavior.
“We are excited to enter into this alliance with Dr Kehr further
cementing PsychoGenics as a leading CNS company with in vivo and in
vitro drug evaluation capabilities. This allows us to provide a more
comprehensive discovery service program to our clients, partners, and
enhances our own internal drug discovery programs,” commented David
Pushett Ph.D., Vice President, Business Development.
David Lowe, Ph.D., PsychoGenics’ Chief Scientific Officer and Executive
Vice President added “We are delighted to be working with Jan Kehr,
incorporating his renowned expertise in microdialysis in PsychoGenics’
drug discovery capabilities. The addition of this capability will allow
us to help clients and partners understand drug action at a more
detailed and quantitative level, and thereby predict human efficacy and
therapeutic utility of drug candidates.”
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