Simcyp licenses ADME simulator to Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical

Licensing deal

Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical R&D, a division of Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, has joined the Simcyp consortium. The three-year contract provides Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical’s global network of R&D teams with access to the Simcyp Simulator and Paedeatric Module.

Simcyp, a spin-out from the University of Sheffield, UK, has developed a population-based pharmacokinetic modelling and simulation technology which estimates absorption, distribution, metabolism and elimination of drugs in virtual populations of adults and children. This platform bypasses the need for drug testing on human volunteers and animals prior to clinical trials.

Simcyp uses experimental data generated during pre-clinical drug discovery and development from in vitro  enzyme and cellular systems. The technology identifies individuals at extreme risk of adverse reactions and estimates potential limitations of candidate compounds by assessing drug-drug interactions prior to human studies.

Geoff Tucker, Chairman of Simcyp Ltd, said: “We are delighted that Johnson & Johnson, one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies, has joined the Simcyp Consortium. Following on from their thorough in-house evaluation of the Simulator, we anticipate that its further application will provide major benefits to them in their drug discovery and development programmes.”

Johnson & Johnson’s addition to the Simcyp Consortium brings the number of members with a license to use the Simulator to 21. Simcyp also provides academic licenses to centres of excellence in Europe, USA and Japan.