Nuevolution will apply its proprietary Chemetics(R) drug discoverytechnology to identify novel small molecule leads against several drugtargets of interest to Merck. The Chemetics(R) platform uses innovative DNAlabeling to allow fragment-based drug screening at an unprecedented scale.
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Nuevolution will screen multiple multi-million member diverse fragmentbased screening libraries for hit identification. Through the design,synthesis and screening of target focused Chemetics(R) follow-up libraries,the parties will also work together to perform hit-to-lead optimization.
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Under the terms of the agreement, Merck will provide Nuevolution with anupfront payment, research funding, and milestone payments as candidatemolecules progress through preclinical and clinical development and onto themarket. In addition, Nuevolution is eligible to receive royalties on thecommercial sales of approved products. Further financial details were notdisclosed.
"We are delighted that a company of Merck's stature has chosen to enterinto collaboration with Nuevolution to access our fragment-based Chemetics(R)platform, which we believe has the potential to transform small molecule leaddiscovery." said Alex Gouliaev, CEO of Nuevolution A/S, and continued:"Working with Merck's world class team of scientists is an opportunity tofurther strengthen our approach and we look forward to an exciting andfruitful outcome of our collaboration."
About Nuevolution
Nuevolution is a leading drug discovery company founded in 2001 and basedin Copenhagen, Denmark. The company has developed Chemetics(R), a unique,patent protected hybrid of proven wet chemistry and molecular biology whichrepresents the ultimate fragment based drug discovery technology.Chemetics(R) enables rapid synthesis and DNA-tagging of hundreds of millionsof chemically diverse drug-like small molecule compounds and the efficientscreening of these, facilitating the identification of potent drug leads atunprecedented quantity, quality and speed compared to existing drug discoverytechnologies.
Nuevolution partners its technology with pharmaceutical and biotechnologycompanies, and is also developing an internal pipeline by applyingChemetics(R) to validated cancer and cardiovascular targets. Nuevolution hasdemonstrated the power of Chemetics(R) by identifying highly potent and druglike novel ligands with the potential to address major unmet medical needsacross a range of therapeutic areas and target classes.
Nuevolution is a privately owned company and has raised EUR 37 million infinancing from key Scandinavian investors, including SEB Venture, SunstoneCapital, SLS Venture and Novo A/S.
For more information about Nuevolution A/S, please visit the company'swebsite http://www.nuevolution.com
SOURCE Nuevolution A/S
