QSP Designer: Quantitative systems pharmacology modeling with modular biological process map notation and multiple language code generation.

Typical Quantitative Systems Pharmacology (QSP) workflows involve discussion of biology, supported by graphical diagrams, followed by construction of large Ordinary Differential Equation models. QSP Designer facilitates this process by providing enhanced graphical notation, which enables hierarchical presentation with modules and handling of combinatorial complexity with diagram node arrays. Whereas the software includes a simulation engine, a major feature is full model code generation in MATLAB, R, C, and Julia to support multiple modeling communities.

Spontaneous hydrolysis and spurious metabolic properties of α-ketoglutarate esters.

α-ketoglutarate (KG), also referred to as 2-oxoglutarate, is a key intermediate of cellular metabolism with pleiotropic functions. Cell-permeable esterified analogs are widely used to study how KG fuels bioenergetic and amino acid metabolism and DNA, RNA, and protein hydroxylation reactions, as cellular membranes are thought to be impermeable to KG. Here we show that esterified KG analogs rapidly hydrolyze in aqueous media, yielding KG that, in contrast to prevailing assumptions, imports into many cell lines. Esterified KG analogs exhibit spurious KG-independent effects on cellular metabolism, including extracellular acidification, arising from rapid hydrolysis and de-protonation of α-ketoesters, and significant analog-specific inhibitory effects on glycolysis or mitochondrial respiration. We observe that imported KG decarboxylates to succinate in the cytosol and contributes minimally to mitochondrial metabolism in many cell lines cultured in normal conditions. These findings demonstrate that nuclear and cytosolic KG-dependent reactions may derive KG from functionally distinct subcellular pools and sources.

Use of a collaborative tool to simplify the outsourcing of preclinical safety studies: an insight into the AstraZeneca-Charles River Laboratories strategic relationship.

In 2012, AstraZeneca entered into a strategic relationship with Charles River Laboratories whereby preclinical safety packages comprising safety pharmacology, toxicology, formulation analysis, in vivo ADME, bioanalysis and pharmacokinetics studies are outsourced. New processes were put in place to ensure seamless workflows with the aim of accelerating the delivery of new medicines to patients. Here, we describe in more detail the AstraZeneca preclinical safety outsourcing model and the way in which a collaborative tool has helped to translate the processes in AstraZeneca and Charles River Laboratories into simpler integrated workflows that are efficient and visible across the two companies.