Metabolon, Inc.

Metabolomics is a revolutionary technology for obtaining a comprehensive picture of the metabolome and mapping metabolites to their key biochemical pathways. It helps answer a wide variety of research questions and gives crucial insight into the function of genes, the basis of disease, and how treatments work. It can also identify associated biomarkers, making it an attractive tool for investigators across multiple applications.

Many laboratories have metabolite profiling or analytical chemistry capabilities, but none have the technology and workflow that allow Metabolon to produce the most comprehensive, high-quality and accurate metabolomics data available. Our unique bioinformatics infrastructure and data interpretation experience transform that data into knowledge that you can immediately put into action.

Metabolon offers a range of metabolomics service offerings that support and advance research at every stage. Whether you want to survey the entire metabolome, only complex lipids, or just a few key pathways or metabolites, our team of experts will work with you to clearly define your goals and develop a customized plan to meet them.

Metabolomics applications for the drug discovery and preclinical phases are many.

• Discovery through Target Selection
  
  • Novel biomarkers
    
  • Disease characterization
    
  • Target discovery
    
  • Mechanism of action
    
• Lead through Candidate Selection
  
  • Lead optimization
    
  • Early toxicology & secondary effects
    
  • Candidate selection
    
• Preclinical
  
  • Efficacy & PD biomarkers
    
  • Translatability
    
  • Drug off-target effect characterization

See above (Metabolomics)

See above (Metabolomics)

Our expertise and institutional knowledge clear this barrier through interpretation services led by our Ph.D. scientists and access to bioinformatics tools that enable you to explore the data.

Lipidomics is a more focused form of metabolomics that surveys complex lipids. Our Complex Lipid Panel is the only lipidomics method able to provide absolute quantitation, molecular species concentration and complete fatty acid composition of each covered lipid class. This unique method covers more than 1100 molecular species across 16 lipid classes, including principle phospholipid sphingolipid and neutral lipid classes.

Targeted assays and panels focus on a specific metabolite or metabolites and can be used to track biomarkers and improve biological understanding in both clinical and preclinical research. They are an excellent tool for rapidly and accurately establishing pharmacodynamics, translational studies, gauging efficacy and safety in clinical trials and for post-market surveillance studies. The role of biomarkers is also expanding to inform new indications and targets, patient segmentation and novel mechanisms of action.

Metabolon’s targeted metabolite assays provide precise measurements of metabolites in a wide variety of sample matrices. Metabolites can be valuable biomarkers because they are sensitive to specific enzyme inhibitors and signaling pathways (e.g. kinase inhibitors) and are associated with many diseases such as metabolic disorders and cancer.

LC-MS/MS-based assays offer unique advantages over legacy assay platforms such as ELISA or IHC. Assays can be customized based on your needs and developed for research use only (RUO) or validated under Good Clinical Practice (GCP) and Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA).

Select from an ever-expanding, diverse menu of more than 150 pre-developed assays (qualified and /or validated) involving more than 250 metabolites for research or clinical trial use, including a fatty acid panel, short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) panel, bile acid panel and amino acid panel, such as:

-Fatty Acid Metabolism Panel: measures the major fatty acids of importance to human and animal metabolism, including saturated, mono-unsaturated omega-3, omega-6, trans and plasmalogen-derived fatty acids.
-Short-Chain Fatty Acid (SCFA) Panel: measures short-chain fatty acids in a variety of biological matrices. Quantitative measurements of SCFA can help elucidate the importance of the gut microbiome on human health.
-Bile Acid Panel: measures the major primary and secondary bile acids, as well as their glycine and taurine derivatives.
-Cholesterol Metabolism Panel: measures cholesterol, as well as intermediates in cholesterol synthesis and oxidation, phytosterols, and metabolic products of cholesterol to provide a comprehensive snapshot of sterol synthesis, absorption and excretion.
-Stratum Corneum Panel: measures more than 350 individual lipid metabolites found in stratum corneum, including free fatty acids, cholesterol sulfate, ceramides, dihydroceramides and phytoceramides.
-Sebum Lipid Panel: measures over 900 individual lipid species from multiple lipid classes, including wax esters and squalene. The fatty acids comprising the complex lipid classes are largely unique to skin metabolism and include odd and branched-chain fatty acids and a high concentration of the unusual sapienic acid (16:1n10) and its metabolites.
-accuGFR™ Panel: provides an estimate of the Glomerular Filtration Rate (GFR) that is more precise than current standard-of-care eGFR methods based on creatinine of cystatin C (MDRD or CKD-EPI), and it is independent of creatinine or cystatin C.
-7 alpha-hydroxy-4-cholesten-3-one (C4) Panel: measurement in peripheral blood provides an assessment of the rate of bile acid synthesis in the liver.
-Metal Ion Panel: provides precise measurements of biologically important macro- and micro-nutrient metals, such as zinc, chromium, magnesium and iron, in plasma, serum or urine.
-Amino Acid Panel: measures the major free amino acids in biofluids. Quantitative profiling of amino acids can be used to study a wide variety of genetic disorders and acquired conditions that influence the amino acid metabolism. Monitoring the amino acid profile is also a useful tool in bioprocessing applications.
-Custom Assays: provides precise measurement of metabolites in a wide variety of matrices. Metabolites can be valuable biomarkers, because they are sensitive to specific enzyme inhibitors and signaling pathways and are associated with many diseases.

Metabolomics applications for the drug discovery and preclinical phases are many.

• Discovery through Target Selection
  
  • Novel biomarkers
    
  • Disease characterization
    
  • Target discovery
    
  • Mechanism of action
    
• Lead through Candidate Selection
  
  • Lead optimization
    
  • Early toxicology & secondary effects
    
  • Candidate selection
    
• Preclinical
  
  • Efficacy & PD biomarkers
    
  • Translatability
    
  • Drug off-target effect characterization

Metabolomics applications for the drug discovery and preclinical phases are many.

• Discovery through Target Selection
  
  • Novel biomarkers
    
  • Disease characterization
    
  • Target discovery
    
  • Mechanism of action
    
• Lead through Candidate Selection
  
  • Lead optimization
    
  • Early toxicology & secondary effects
    
  • Candidate selection
    
• Preclinical
  
  • Efficacy & PD biomarkers
    
  • Translatability
    
  • Drug off-target effect characterization

Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Services