|
S |
ince
his Ph.D. studies began in the late '70s, XenoTech founder, President and CEO
Andrew Parkinson has been trying to uncover the myriad of ways the liver
metabolizes drugs and other chemicals. In fact, XenoTech grew out of such
research while Parkinson was a professor in the Department of Pharmacology,
Toxicology and Therapeutics at the Kansas University Medical Center (KUMC).
While at KUMC, his research into cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes led to
the development of pre-clinical tests, based on in vitro experiments with
nontransplantable human liver, that can evaluate the safety of drugs under
development by pharmaceutical companies.
Tests that XenoTech has developed have revolutionized pre-clinical trials of drugs. In the past, pre-clinical testing could only be conducted in animals. As a result, extrapolation of the results to humans was fraught with difficulty and was often misleading. Thanks to improved technology for preparing and cryopreserving liver samples developed by XenoTech scientists, human liver material is readily available for use. Metabolite patterns in animals can now be compared to those in humans, early in the pre-clinical drug development process. This greatly aids in the choice of appropriate species for toxicology testing and minimizes unnecessary use of animals. XenoTech has also helped pioneer improvements in the technology of cryopreservation in which liver cells (hepatocytes) are frozen ex vivo.
Today, XenoTech's clients can perform multiple drug
tests where an intact cellular system is required, thereby increasing the range
and versatility of in vitro testing. The tests that
XenoTech has developed are able not only to predict metabolism patterns in
humans years before human clinical trials are permitted, but can also be used
to signal dangerous drug-drug interactions and provide insight into in vivo
animal tumor formation. So valuable are these tests that many are now required
by the FDA and other regulatory agencies to ensure the safety of drugs entering
clinical trials.
Parkinson founded XenoTech in 1994 and set up shop in
the Biotechnology Development Building, KUMC's business incubator located on
campus. Within a year, XenoTech had expanded into the entire 6,500-square-foot incubator. When XenoTech
was established, Dr. Parkinson was still a faculty member at KUMC. The close
proximity of the business incubator to his KUMC laboratories and office allowed
him to wear the hats of both professor and entrepreneur. XenoTech also had
access to affordable laboratory space - which was in short supply in the
Kansas City area - where it could conduct research in compliance with Good
Laboratory Practice regulations, often a challenging task in an academic
setting. XenoTech quickly outgrew its KUMC facilities and began making plans
to relocate to a new facility in a 20,000-square-foot laboratory and office
building in Lenexa, Kansas. In late May of this year, XenoTech moved to its
new location.
In less than a decade, XenoTech has established
itself as a top-notch contract research laboratory, working with most of the
large national and international pharmaceutical firms involved in P450 drug
testing. It has grown from a staff of six back in 1994 to 65 people
in 2002, who Parkinson calls "the brightest, hardworking people one could
imagine." The company has recruited all over the country, but most of its
staff members have come from the Kansas City area. Its officers are: Chief
Administrative Officer, Patricia St. Vincent; Chief Scientific Officer, Thomas
N. Thompson; Chief Financial Officer, Philip Marquardt; Chief Technology
Officer, Timothy James; and Vice President of Sales & Marketing, David
Steen.
Parkinson says that XenoTech's future plans are
rather simple, "Now that we have the space to expand, we intend to take
advantage of the many business opportunities that have presented themselves
over the past several years:" The company plans to expand and improve the
existing product line and services to take advantage of demand that is
increasing at an average of 30 percent a year.
Out of the increased demands for XenoTech's
products and services has grown a parallel need for expansion both in terms of
staff and facilities. Not only does the company need to hire additional staff to
meet these demands, but Parkinson indicated that it may not be long before the
company will need to consider building a second facility on land it owns
adjacent to the current building - both good problems to have. •