DGAP-News: Press Release 4SC AG: UCB to collaborate with CRELUX and 4SC Discovery to meet unmet needs in neurology
(firmenpresse) - DGAP-News: 4SC AG / Key word(s): Miscellaneous
Press Release 4SC AG: UCB to collaborate with CRELUX and 4SC Discovery
to meet unmet needs in neurology
11.06.2013 / 07:00
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Joint Press Release
UCB to collaborate with CRELUX and 4SC Discovery to meet unmet needs in
neurology
Collaboration aims to identify new drug candidates through state of the art
i2c platform
Planegg-Martinsried, Germany and Brussels, Belgium, 11 June 2013 - 4SC AG
(Frankfurt, Prime Standard: VSC), a discovery and development company of
targeted small molecule drugs mainly focusing on autoimmune diseases and
cancer, today announced that CRELUX GmbH, 4SC Discovery GmbH and UCB have
started a drug discovery collaboration to identify and validate novel small
molecule compounds for the treatment of neurological disorders. This
collaboration fits perfectly into UCB's strategy of building a global
network of partnerships in order to bring innovative solutions to patients
living with severe diseases. With this partnership, CRELUX and 4SC
Discovery further build on their joint strategy to position themselves as
high-quality technology and service providers in drug discovery.
Based on their joint idea-to-candidate (i2c) platform, CRELUX and 4SC
Discovery will discover and optimize small molecule compounds with the goal
to deliver high quality drug candidates to UCB. UCB thus aims to identify
novel medicines for treatment of diseases of the central nervous system
(CNS) and take them into further preclinical and clinical development.
Under this agreement a virtual screening approach based on 4SC's
proprietary 4SCan(R) method will be performed to identify various
inhibitors to the therapeutic target enzyme. Compounds identified as
binders will be verified in vitro at CRELUX using their INTRACT assay
capabilities. Subsequently, co-crystal structures of verified hits with the
target will be solved by CRELUX to enable rational design and guide the
further chemical optimization.
The i2c platform operates on a seamlessly integrated suite of technologies
including virtual high throughput screening, molecular modelling, X-ray
crystallography, in vitro and cell based screening medicinal chemistry and
pharmacology. CRELUX and 4SC Discovery are offering integrated drug
discovery services to clients from the pharmaceutical and biotechnology
industry covering the entire value chain of early-stage pharmaceutical
research and drug discovery.
Financial details of the collaboration were not disclosed. This agreement
further extends to an earlier successful collaboration of the three
companies.
Ismail Kola, Executive Vice President, UCB&President, New Medicines, UCB
said: 'UCB has been steadily building a supernetwork of innovation with
trusted scientific and academic partners globally. We firmly believe
science progresses more rapidly when innovation is fostered by strong
partnerships. By using the expertise and state of the art tools of CRELUX
and 4SC, we are accessing powerful technology that should help us identify
and screen new targets. These are essential to finding new drug candidates
that lead to medicines which create superior and sustainable value for
patients.'
Dr. Michael Schaeffer, Executive Director Strategy and Business of CRELUX
GmbH, comments: 'We are delighted to enter into this i2c project with such
a highly prestigious pharmaceutical partner as UCB Pharma. We believe that
our expertise in compound screening and crystallography will make a
valuable contribution to UCB's research and development success. The i2c
platform covers all necessary technologies for the discovery and
optimization of small molecule drug candidates.'
Dr. Daniel Vitt, Managing Director of 4SC Discovery GmbH and Chief
Scientific Officer at 4SC AG, comments: 'This partnership is another great
validation of the value creation potential of our i2c platform in drug
discovery. We are looking forward to a repeated and successful
collaboration with our valued partner CRELUX and the scientific team at UCB
with their impressive expertise in neurological disorders. We will
contribute to the project with our proprietary computational chemistry
tools and dedicated experience of small molecule drug discovery to a
successful selection of promising candidates.'
Ends
About UCB Pharma SA
UCB, Brussels, Belgium (www.ucb.com) is a global biopharmaceutical company
focused on the discovery and development of innovative medicines and
solutions to transform the lives of people living with severe diseases of
the immune system or of the central nervous system. With 9000 people in
approximately 40 countries, the company generated revenue of EUR 3.4
billion in 2012. UCB is listed on Euronext Brussels (symbol: UCB).
About i2c drug discovery services (www.i2c-discovery.com)
The integrated drug discovery platform i2c (idea to candidate) was set up
with the mission to enable its partners to perform their work better,
faster, more efficiently and more successfully by providing a flexible,
expert team and leading discovery technologies. It offers a seamless
process from early concept through to a preclinical development candidate
ready to advance into formal animal model testing and thereafter into
clinical trials. The i2c partners are pharma companies looking to outsource
part of their early discovery projects and also small and mid-size biotech
companies lacking the relevant expertise and infrastructure. Besides the
standard fee-for-service offerings i2c also includes research
collaborations based on risk sharing models including milestones and
royalties. These collaborations are provided as tailor made solutions for
smaller sized companies and interested pharma partners.
4SC and CRELUX have a long and successful track record in the discovery and
development of novel drugs. Both partners are adding their synergistic
competencies to i2c. CRELUX is a leading company in advancing innovations
in protein production, crystallography and compound screening. Next to its
strong in silico screening and medicinal chemistry capacities, 4SC
Discovery adds to that a team of experienced pharmacologists that has
successfully brought a number of small molecule drugs from discovery to
clinical trials.
About CRELUX GmbH
CRELUX (www.crelux.com) specializes in tailor made protein, in-vitro
screening and protein crystallography drug discovery. The company is a
professional and dedicated contract research company for the global pharma
and biotech industry. CRELUX is privately owned and fully independent of
external shareholders which facilitate quick decision making and efficient
operations. The company is committed to long-term development and growth
based on its broad portfolio of drug discovery projects and technologies
that are seamlessly integrated into our i2c (idea to candidate) programs
which include target to hit and concept to early development candidate
projects.
CRELUX is a client focused discovery and research partner with a portfolio
of premium technologies and top level protein expertise. In PRIME PROTEIN
programs we are advancing innovations in protein expression to promote the
availability of high quality proteins for use in drug discovery and
diagnostics. Our XPRESS portfolio of readily available crystallographic
targets grants turn-around times within a few weeks. The XPERT
crystallography platform from concept to high resolution complex structure
as well as in vitrocompound and fragment screening based on our unique
screening technology INTRACT are available under individual agreements.
About 4SC Discovery GmbH and 4SC Group
4SC Discovery GmbH, a wholly-owned subsidiary of 4SC AG, specialises in the
early-stage research and discovery of novel therapeutic compounds against
cancer and autoimmune diseases. 4SC Discovery offers its technologies and
research services to other companies and engages in partnerships with
pharmaceutical and biotech companies to accelerate the development and
commercialisation of its own early-stage therapeutic programmes. 4SC Group
focuses on the discovery and clinical development of targeted
small-molecule drugs for the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases in
order to enhance patients' quality of life. At the end of 2012, 4SC Group
had 86 employees. The company was founded in 1997 and has been listed on
the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange since December 2005.
Legal Note
This document may contain projections or estimates relating to plans and
objectives relating to our future operations, products, or services; future
financial results; or assumptions underlying or relating to any such
statements; each of which constitutes a forward-looking statement subject
to risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control. Actual
results could differ materially, depending on a number of factors.
For more information on 4SC or 4SC Discovery please visit www.4sc.com and
www.4sc-discovery.de or contact:
4SC AG
Jochen Orlowski, Corporate Communications&Investor Relations
jochen.orlowski(at)4sc.com, Tel.: +49-89-7007-63-66
MC Services
Raimund Gabriel, Mareike Mohr
raimund.gabriel(at)mc-services.eu, Tel.: +49-89-2102-2830
mareike.mohr(at)mc-services.eu, Tel.: +49-89-2102-2840
The Trout Group
Chad Rubin
Crubin(at)troutgroup.com, Tel.: +1-646-378-2947
For more information on CRELUX please visit www.crelux.com or contact:
CRELUX GmbH
Dr. Michael Schaeffer, Executive Director Strategy&Business
schaeffer(at)crelux.com, Tel.: +49-89-7007-60-170
For more information about UCB please visit www.ucb.com or contact:
UCB S.A.
France Nivelle, Global Communications UCB, Tel +32-2-559-9178,
france.nivelle(at)ucb.com
Laurent Schots, Media Relations, UCB, Tel +32-2-559-9264,
laurent.schots(at)ucb.com
Antje Witte, Investor Relations UCB, Tel +32-2-559-9414,
antje.witte(at)ucb.com
End of Corporate News
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11.06.2013 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a
company of EquityStory AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
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Language: English
Company: 4SC AG
Am Klopferspitz 19a
82152 Martinsried
Germany
Phone: +49 (0)89 7007 63-0
Fax: +49 (0)89 7007 63-29
E-mail: public(at)4sc.com
Internet: www.4sc.de
ISIN: DE0005753818
WKN: 575381
Listed: Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard);
Freiverkehr in Berlin, Düsseldorf, München, Stuttgart
End of News DGAP News-Service
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