Research will focus on bacterial ribosome targets

British Biotech, of Cambridge in the UK, and MerLion Pharmaceuticals, a Singapore-based drug discovery company, have signed a two-year research agreement to discover and develop new classes of antibacterial ribosomal inhibitors from natural sources.

The collaboration will combine British Biotech's expertise in ribosomal biology and structure-based drug design, including site specific assays, crystallography and NMR technology (acquired through its recent merger with RiboTargets) with MerLion's extensive collection of natural product samples, its high throughput screening capabilities and natural product and medicinal chemistry expertise.

Identification and characterisation of lead candidates from MerLion's natural product library will be performed using British Biotech's proprietary ribosomal assays. The two companies will jointly progress selected lead compounds through initial preclinical development and will share in the intellectual property generated.

Simon Sturge, British Biotech's ceo, commented: 'Collaborating with MerLion enables us to apply our extensive understanding of the bacterial ribosome and its potential as a novel target for antibacterial therapy to one of the world's most diverse libraries of natural products. We look forward to a productive relationship with MerLion.'