Asterand subsidiary BioSeek signs agreement with Amylin

Jun 14 2010

Asterand plc (LSE: ATD), a leading provider of human tissue and human tissue-based research services to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies engaged in drug discovery, today announces that its subsidiary BioSeek, LLC, a pioneer in the application of predictive human biology to drug discovery, has signed a one-year collaboration agreement with Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

“Our BioMAP® human-based disease model is well-suited to assist Amylin in its search for new innovative treatments for inflammation. We look forward to assisting Amylin with this latest project, and other similar collaborations in the future.”

Under the agreement, BioSeek will apply its unique BioMAP® predictive human disease models to screen Amylin's PHORMOL library to discover peptides with a potential for treatment of a range of inflammatory conditions. This collaboration follows similar agreements in recent years between the two companies involving peptide screening and related drug discovery activities.

Asterand's CEO, Martyn Coombs, commented:

"Our BioMAP® human-based disease model is well-suited to assist Amylin in its search for new innovative treatments for inflammation. We look forward to assisting Amylin with this latest project, and other similar collaborations in the future."

BioMAP® Systems are primary cell-based models of human disease biology, designed to replicate the intricate cell and pathway interactions as they are observed in human pharmacology and toxicology. Depending on their mechanism of action, drug compounds induce specific patterns of changes in these systems (BioMAP® profiles) that can be compared to a large number of reference profiles in the BioMAP® Database. BioMAP® provides early insight into human pharmacological and toxicological properties of compounds, including on- and off-target effects, dose responses, and the discrimination of closely related compounds.