Simulations Plus, Inc. (NASDAQ: SLP), a leading provider of software for pharmaceutical discovery and development, today announced that it has received a purchase order from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for its ADMET Predictor™ software.
Ron Creeley, vice president of marketing and sales for Simulations Plus, said: “This is our first software license from the EPA. We’re especially pleased that they have recognized the value of ADMET Predictor’s Toxicity Module and our new Enslein Metabolism Module in their work. Many people don’t realize that in addition to pesticides and industry chemicals, drugs also can pose a potential environmental hazard, because a large portion of drugs are thrown away instead of being taken. Eventually these drugs, as well as the excipients that are packaged with them, end up in our sewage treatment and landfill systems, from which they can reach fresh water streams and the oceans, or they can be blown into the air as dust and spread over large areas. So it’s important for both the EPA, the chemical industry, and drug manufacturers to consider not only how new molecules accomplish their designed purpose, but also how the environment could be affected if and when they get into our air or water.”
Dr. Robert Fraczkiewicz, team leader for Simulations Plus’ ADMET Cheminformatics team and product manager for ADMET Predictor, added: “Because the EPA generated the data for a number of our toxicity predictions, it is especially appropriate that it has now come full circle in the form of high quality predictive models for them to use in their ongoing efforts to protect our environment. Good models begin with good data, and the investment made by the EPA over the years in measuring various types of toxicities is now providing an additional return in the form of high quality toxicity predictions for new molecules. ADMET Predictor will allow the EPA to predict a number of potential toxicities for industry chemicals, agricultural chemicals, and drug molecules plus excipients. Additionally, even if a chemical in question is not toxic, its metabolites might be. This is where ADMET Predictor’s Enslein Metabolism Module becomes useful in recognizing which of the human cytochromes P450 will metabolize the chemical and how fast this will happen.”