Astex extends r&d collaboration with AZ

Astex Technology, the UK fragment-based drug discovery company, has extended its existing research collaboration agreement with AstraZeneca AB in the area of cytochrome P450s. Under the terms of the three-year extension, Astex will continue to apply its high-throughput X-ray crystallography (HTX) technology to obtain crystal structures of human cytochrome P450s alone and in complex with AZ's compounds. Financial details were not disclosed.

'We are delighted to extend our existing collaboration with AstraZeneca,' said Tim Haines, Astex's ceo. 'This reflects the considerable successes we have achieved in the last two years, including solving the first crystal structures of human cytochrome P450s. Our proprietary position not only allows us to look at how drugs bind to these key metabolising enzymes but is also opening up new opportunities for Astex in the area of P450 drug activation and drug rescue.' Astex's unique drug discovery approach, termed Pyramid, uses protein crystal structures to detect the binding of drug fragments, which are then optimised into potent lead compounds. It is focusing on proprietary and public domain protein targets from families and/or pathways. This includes validated kinases, phosphatases and proteases implicated in human disease.