15 Sep 2008 07:00
| Press Release | 15 September 2008 |
e-Therapeutics plc
("e-Therapeutics" or "the Company")
e-Therapeutics expands its global footprint in China through partnership
with KeyGen Biotechnology
e-Therapeutics plc (AIM: ETX), the drug discovery and development company, is pleased to announce a new partnership with Nanjing KeyGen Biotech. Co. Limited ("Keygen"). The initial focus of the collaboration will be to combine the respective capabilities and expertise of both companies in the evaluation of specific molecules that may have a therapeutic application in oncology.
As the relationship develops, the partnership will combine e-Therapeutics' systems biology drug discovery and drug evaluation platform, with KeyGen's cell-based assays and preclinical capabilities. e-Therapeutics has proprietary complex systems analysis tools which enable the assessment and the discovery of drug candidates with desirable properties in efficacy, safety and tolerance, while KeyGen's high-level cell-culture facilities and substantial expertise in anti-cancer drugs will allow pre-clinical testing of the oncology candidates that e-Therapeutics finds.
Any exploitation of potential drug candidates and further work between the two companies will be the subject of further agreement which, if entered into, would be announced in due course.
Commenting on the new relationship, e-Therapeutics' CEO, Professor Malcolm Young said: "This marks a significant partnership for us in Asia and we are delighted to be collaborating with one of China's leading biotechnology companies. We believe KeyGen's relationship with Nanjing Medical Group, which is a top pharmaceutical group in China, provides us with direct access to some of China's most eminent scientists and doctors, in addition to a well established market presence. We hope that this strong research and development partnership will lead to the development of promising, new oncology drugs."
Commenting on the collaboration, KeyGen's CEO, Dr. Wanzhou Zhao commented: "KeyGen is delighted to be collaborating with, what we believe is one of the West's fastest growing biotechnology companies. In our opinion, e-Therapeutics possesses a unique platform for addressing the principal risks in drug discovery and development. We are very excited about working with e-Therapeutics to develop new and effective cancer therapies."
Founded in China in November 2000, KeyGen has developed and marketed over 1400 reagents for life science research in the fields of cell biology, molecular biology and protein research. KeyGen is a subsidiary of Nanjing Medical Group Limited (SHA: 600713), which has a market capitalisation of RMB 1.82billion.
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Notes to Editors
e-Therapeutics plc is a systems biology drug discovery company. It has developed proprietary computational systems to swiftly and accurately analyse and predict how medicines interact with cells in the body. This optimises the probability of identifying drug candidates with desirable efficacy and low toxicity. The Company applies its novel, systematic approach to three areas of activity:
| discovery of new drugs; | |
| discovering novel uses for existing drugs; and | |
| analysis of the interactions between different drugs. |
Amongst e-Therapeutics' pipeline of compounds in development are novel antibiotics that have been shown to kill the "superbug" MRSA, and a novel cancer chemotherapy that has been shown to kill malignant cells at safe doses in a very short time. Other candidate therapies in development are targeted at atherosclerosis, asthma and depression. The Company is currently in negotiation with a number of pharmaceutical companies, and is progressing the preclinical and clinical development of these products.