Press Release Summary = Aurigene Discovery Technologies Ltd (Aurigene), a Bangalore-based integrated drug discovery services company, announced today that it has entered into a discovery collaboration with Merck Serono International S.A (Merck Serono), a global biotechnology leader. The two companies have entered into an agreement to identify small molecule drugs for the treatment of autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis.
Press Release Body = Bangalore, India - February 2, 2007 - Aurigene Discovery Technologies Ltd (Aurigene), a Bangalore-based integrated drug discovery services company, announced today that it has entered into a discovery collaboration with Merck Serono International S.A (Merck Serono), a global biotechnology leader. The two companies have entered into an agreement to identify small molecule drugs for the treatment of autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis.
Under the research agreement Aurigene will receive research funding for the lead generation and optimization according to a pre-defined research plan, and shall be entitled to milestone payments upon the achievement of certain pre-determined milestones. Aurigene will utilize its integrated infrastructure for Drug Discovery, starting from protein expression and purification, all the way through Medicinal Chemistry and Pre-clinical Biology and collaborate with Merck Serono to generate an optimized lead ready for IND-enabling studies.
Aurigene will use its particular strength in Structure Based Drug Design as an additional tool to aid the discovery of novel leads. Commenting on the agreement with Merck Serono, CSN Murthy, CEO of Aurigene, said: "We will use Aurigene's rapidly expanding discovery capability, and leverage Merck Serono's experience in this therapeutic area to succeed. We are very pleased to have a partner of Merck Serono's calibre and to have the opportunity to create value for both sides."
About Aurigene:
Aurigene Discovery Technologies Limited is a Bangalore-based integrated discovery services company focused on collaborative drug discovery and Discovery services, with pharmaceutical and biotech companies. Aurigene's capabilities extend from target to pre-clinical lead optimization, including in vitro and in vivo biology and medicinal chemistry. Aurigene also has structural biology and fragment based drug design capabilities, with in-house crystallization (XRD) and Bio NMR facilities. The company is engaged in a number of discovery collaborations and also provides discovery chemistry and biology services to companies in the US and Europe.
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