BioSeek and UCB sign new compound evaluation collaboration
BioSeek, a pioneer in the application of predictive human biology to drug discovery, has entered into a new and expanded agreement with UCB, a global biopharmaceutical company based in Belgium.
BioSeek, a pioneer in the application of predictive human biology to drug discovery, has entered into a new and expanded agreement with UCB, a global biopharmaceutical company based in Belgium.
BioSeek will, over the next year, carry out broad-based profiling of selected UCB new chemical and biological entities, and guide lead optimisation of a specific phenotypic hit previously identified by UCB and further characterised in BioMAP screens.
According to the terms of the agreement, BioSeek will receive various payments from UCB, including an upfront technology licence fee, research funding, and preclinical and clinical milestone payments based on candidate advancement enabled by the BioMAP platform.
Michael Venuti, chief executive of BioSeek, said: ‘UCB’s decision to expand its relationship with BioSeek is an important validation of our work and technology. Our 2007 collaboration identified specific areas of high interest to UCB where the BioMAP platform could be productively applied to UCB projects, and those form the basis of the new agreement encompassing two major programmes in bioactive annotation and lead optimisation.’
The BioMAP Systems incorporate predictive primary human cell-based disease models that generate uniquely informative activity profiles of each potential drug, assisting in the selection and development of new drug candidates.
‘By focusing on pharmacological outcome in a defined set of validated human cell-based screens, novel bioactivity can be detected, and anecdotally observed activity can be optimised. We look forward to working with UCB on these two major projects in the coming year,’ added Venuti.