Bachem and Atheris collaborate on venom peptides
Melusine libraries consist of natural products isolated from animal venoms
Swiss biotech Bachem and contract research organisation Atheris Laboratories are to collaborate on the marketing of Atheris Laboratories’ Melusine libraries, which consist of natural products isolated from animal venoms. The agreement includes services to identify the active ingredients and to synthesise individual compounds.
No financial details were given.
Atheris says these libraries, isolated from venomous animals, have been fractionated to provide well-defined mixtures. The main components are peptide toxins, which could be used in the development of peptide based therapeutics and cosmetics.
Atheris will carry out deconvolution and structural elucidation of hits and lead selection/optimisation. Following identification of a hit from screening, Bachem will offer custom syntheses for lead compounds and provide support for clinical development of drug candidates.