BioSeek, LLC, a subsidiary of Asterand plc (LSE: ATD), a pioneer in the
application of predictive human biology to drug discovery, announced
today that it has signed a new, three-year collaboration agreement with
Merck Serono, a division of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. The new
agreement extends and expands the companies' previous three-year
agreement from 2009. Under the new research plan, BioSeek will expand
the use of its proprietary BioMAP platform to evaluate Merck Serono
small molecule compounds and proteins across multiple therapeutic areas
in support of target differentiation, lead selection and optimization
and nomination of candidates for preclinical development at Merck Serono.
Jack Davis, Chairman and Interim Chief Executive Officer of Asterand
commented:
"We highly value our long-standing relationship with Merck Serono. The
studies carried out by BioSeek for Merck Serono over the past three
years have demonstrated that BioMAP Platform can be used to reliably
advance promising molecules through preclinical evaluation. Our
scientists have worked closely and productively with the Merck Serono
team, and we look forward to our continuing and expanding research with
them."
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, 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. Assessment with
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.
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