A partnership between biotechnology company Aeterna Zentaris and the Medical University of South Carolina aims to produce 10 new drug development candidates over a 10 year period.
Aeterna Zentaris, a Canada-based biotechnology company, has transferred its library of 100,000 drug compounds to the Medical University of South Carolina as part of a collaborative partnership. The main goal of the agreement is the university discovering at least 10 development candidates over 10 years, beginning in 2018.
The transfer marks the start of a long-term relationship between the two organisations that is hoped to lead to new discoveries. Aeterna will still retain access to the library for its own research.
As part of the deal the university will retain the rights to any therapeutic compounds it discovers outside of the interest areas of Aeterna.
Karen Lackey, director of the Medical University of South Carolina centre, said: “The transfer of this high-quality collection of drug-like compounds will significantly increase our opportunities to find new medicines through sophisticated screening mechanisms.”
David Dodd, chief executive of Aeterna, said: “This agreement with Medical University of South Carolina is another concrete step in our strategy of streamlining our internal drug discovery programs in order to focus our resources on our late-stage clinical programs, as well as on our commercial activities.”
