NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Caliper Life Sciences today said that it has received a $2.9 million task order from the Environmental Protection Agency for the agency's ToxCast screening program.
This is the second order for Caliper from EPA under Phase II of the ToxCast program. In November, the EPA awarded the firm a $1.8 million order to screen as many as 700 compounds against Caliper's ToxCast assay panel.
The goal of the ToxCast program is to identify in vitro assays that can predict the toxicity of chemical compounds in humans and animals by comparing the results of testing conducted by Caliper and other contractors with toxicity data in the EPA's in vivo toxicity database, ToxRefDB. The predictive tests would then be used to supplement or replace existing animal-based tests, thereby reducing cost and improving the speed of regulatory approval of new environmental chemicals.
"We have seen increased interest from the pharmaceutical, chemical, and cosmetic industries in [Caliper Discovery Alliances and Services'] commercial services based on in vitro toxicology assays represented in the ToxCast panel," David Manyak, executive VP of drug discovery services for Caliper, said in a statement.