Syrrx, Inc. Forms Research Collaboration With Sankyo Co., Ltd. of Japan; Collaboration Involves Multiple Targets From the Sankyo Drug Discovery Pipeline.Business Editors & Health/Medical Writers BIOWIRE2K SAN DIEGO--(BW HealthWire)--June 13, 2002 Syrrx, Inc., a high-throughput rational drug discovery company, today announced the formation of a collaborative research agreement with Sankyo Co., Ltd. of Japan. The collaboration applies Syrrx's expertise in high-throughput microcrystallization of proteins for 3-dimensional structure determination across multiple drug targets identified by Sankyo. Financial terms of the collaboration include an up-front technology access fee to Syrrx as well as success fees and license fees by Sankyo upon the achievement of collaboration goals. The agreement also contemplates the potential for an expanded relationship in which Syrrx may engage in its own discovery efforts as part of the collaboration. "This collaboration with Sankyo gives us the opportunity to again demonstrate our ability to rapidly solve 3-dimensional protein structures as part of an automated, high-throughput drug discovery effort," said Wendell Wierenga, Ph.D., CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of Syrrx. "We look forward to applying these structures towards the discovery of new drugs and to exploring opportunities to expand the nature and extent of our partnership." "The partnership with Syrrx is an important component of our drug discovery program," said Sankyo's General Manager of the research division. "Our goal is to identify compounds that have the potential to lead to innovative new approaches for the treatment of major diseases and disorders throughout the world. We believe that Syrrx's expertise and core technologies in X-ray crystallography X-ray crystallography, the study of crystal structures through X-ray diffraction techniques. When an X-ray beam bombards a crystalline lattice in a given orientation, the beam is scattered in a definite manner characterized by the atomic structure of the lattice. will accelerate the process of identifying new compounds for pharmaceutical development." About Syrrx Protein Structures and Drug Discovery The Syrrx "gene to structure" platform uses novel, proprietary tools that bypass historical bottlenecks in the classical protein structure determination process. Deployed in a streamlined, automated environment, the Syrrx platform enables the determination of protein structures more reliably and economically than previously possible. When Syrrx scientists crystallize crys·tal·lize also crys·tal·ize v. crys·tal·lized also crys·tal·ized, crys·tal·liz·ing also crys·tal·iz·ing, crys·tal·liz·es also crys·tal·iz·es v.tr. 1. a protein drug target, they can use the crystal to determine the protein's 3-dimensional 'shape.' Knowing the 'shape' of protein drug targets guides Syrrx scientists as they seek to discover drugs that address unmet un·met adj. Not satisfied or fulfilled: unmet demands. medical needs. About Sankyo Co., Ltd. Sankyo Company, Ltd. is the second largest pharmaceutical company in Japan. Headquartered in Tokyo and established in 1899, Sankyo employs nearly 7,000 people. Sankyo also has marketing activities in the U.S., in Europe and in Asia through its branch offices and joint ventures. As a research-based developer, manufacturer and marketer, Sankyo has introduced to the international market several breakthrough drugs from its own research, including pravastatin pravastatin /prav·a·stat·in/ (prav´ah-stat?in) an antihyperlipidemic agent that acts by inhibiting cholesterol synthesis, used as the sodium salt in the treatment of hypercholesterolemia and other forms of dyslipidemia and to lower the (Mevalotin(TM) or Pravachol(TM)), an anti-hyperlipidemic agent; cefpodoxime proxetil cef·po·dox·ime prox·e·til n. A broad-spectrum oral cephalosporin antibiotic. cefpodoxime proxetil (sef´podok´-sēm prok´s (Banan(TM) or Vantin(TM)), an oral anti-infective agent; and loxoprofen sodium (Loxonin(TM)), the largest anti-inflammatory drug in Japan. Sankyo's website address is http://www.sankyo.co.jp. About Syrrx, Inc. Syrrx, Inc. is a drug discovery company committed to redefining the way medicines are discovered. Based in San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. , CA, the company is at the forefront of high-throughput rational drug discovery. Syrrx intends to leverage high-throughput structure determination, high-throughput screening High-throughput screening (HTS), is a method for scientific experimentation especially used in drug discovery and relevant to the fields of biology and chemistry. Purpose and method , combinatorial and medicinal chemistry Medicinal or pharmaceutical chemistry is a scientific discipline at the intersection of chemistry and pharmacology involved with designing, synthesizing and developing pharmaceutical drugs. together with computational methods to discover novel small molecule preclinical preclinical /pre·clin·i·cal/ (-klin´i-k'l) before a disease becomes clinically recognizable. pre·clin·i·cal adj. 1. drug candidates. This process enables a unique "gene to drug" platform based on the ability to perform high-throughput rational drug discovery. Syrrx has structural proteomic and drug discovery collaborations with industry leaders, including Hoffman-La Roche Ltd., Pharmacia Corporation, Celera Genomics, and Cubist Pharmaceuticals. The company has also acquired small molecule assets from Onyx onyx (ŏn`ĭks), variety of cryptocrystalline quartz, differing from agate only in that the bands of which it is composed are parallel and regular. Pharmaceuticals for use in the internal discovery programs at Syrrx. For more information, please visit the Syrrx website at http://www.syrrx.com. |
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