Print“New and collaborative approaches between private and academic sectors will help speed the discovery and development of new treatments, particularly for antibiotic-resistant infections”
AstraZeneca and the Broad Institute have announced a collaboration to identify new chemical compounds targeting bacterial and viral infections to fuel the discovery of new antibiotics and antivirals.
Under the two-year collaboration the two entities hope to leverage each other’s expertise in bacterial genomics and biochemistry to address the significant challenge of identifying high quality lead compounds for drug development.
Bacterial and viral infections remain a serious public health concern globally, and while the World Health Organization reports that infectious and parasitic diseases are the world’s second-largest cause of death and disability, only two new classes of antibiotics have entered the market over the past 30 years.
“We believe new and collaborative approaches between private and academic sectors will help speed the discovery and development of new treatments, particularly for antibiotic-resistant infections,” says Manos Perros, head of AstraZeneca’s Infection Innovative Medicines Unit.
The chemical library created at the Broad Institute is comprised of 100,000 customized molecules that are designed in shapes and structures not found anywhere else and can “hit” even the most difficult biological targets. Under the agreement, all the screening for potential compounds will occur in Broad’s Chemical Biology Platform. AstraZeneca will spearhead the development and commercialization of any potential compounds.
The collaboration provides AstraZeneca another avenue by which the company might bolster its pipeline, which has recently run into major setbacks and suffered from poor R&D output, without having to put more resources into revamping its internal R&D programs.
September 14, 2012
http://www.burrillreport.com/article-astrazeneca_strikes_partnership_with_broad_institute.html
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