NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Reaction Biology said today it has received a Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences to create a database of epigenetic drug interactions.
The Malvern, Pa.-based company said it will use the $288,000 grant to study the interactions of more than 1,400 drugs and drug-like compounds that have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.
RBC will assay all of these compounds, which includes almost every FDA-approved drug, against more than 30 epigenetic enzymes, resulting in more than 42,000 individual experiments. The company plans to use the data these tests generate to create a 'roadmap' to help guide drug researchers as they develop compounds that target conditions that have known epigenetic mediators. These data also may be useful for studies of the side effects of known drugs and to guide efforts to repurpose existing drugs for new treatments, the company said.
"This project will represent the first systematic look at how current pharmaceuticals affect epigenetic function," RBC's Chief Science Officer and principal investigator Haiching Ma said in a statement. "The potential exists for some exciting developments as a result."
RBC said it will begin work on the one-year project immediately.