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Merck Serono has signed a collaboration with Polish biotechnology firm Selvita to jointly discover small molecule based drugs targeting proteins involved in cancer cell metabolism.
Under the deal, the companies will use their expertise in target validation, bioinformatics, medicinal chemistry, in vitro and in vivo biology and toxicology to target key metabolic pathways involved in sustaining growth and proliferation of cancer cells. The deal is aimed at delivering potential first-in-class molecules as candidate drugs for multiple oncology indications.
“We are excited about our new collaboration with Selvita, which will afford us the opportunity to build upon our collective ef forts of the last two years,” said Andree Blaukat, Head of the Translational Innovation Platform Oncology at Merck. “Our shared success from our previous collaboration has led to strong progress in the area of cancer metabolism. Together, we remain focused on bringing innovative new therapeutic options to patients that have the potential to make a substantial difference in their lives."
The new deal will steer a joined portfolio of discovery projects in a risk/reward sharing model and builds on the framework that the two firms have developed during a two-year partnership in cancer metabolism, which started in 2013.
As part of the new deal, Merck will have an exclusive licence to the joint intellectual property and Selvita will receive milestone payments and royalties upon successful development and commercialisation of products by Merck. The deal includes a joint research phase up to lead identification, following which Merck will further research and develop the projects on its own.
Krzysztof Brzozka, Selvita Chief Scientific Officer, added: “Collaboration between Merck and Selvita is an excellent example of a successful joint drug discovery platform where both parties contribute their expertise to identify and validate novel therapeutic targets, in parallel developing new compounds and advancing them towards clinical development. This sort of deep and intensive type of collaboration is at the core of Selvita’s vision of modern drug discovery.”
Selvita is focused in the discovery and development of breakthrough medicines to treat oncology, CNS and autoimmune disorders, as well as provision of drug discovery services.
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