Collaboration with the SGC

RNS Number : 6393D

C4X Discovery Holdings PLC

28 October 2015

 



Collaboration with the Structural Genomics Consortium at Oxford University

28 October, 2015 - C4X Discovery Holdings plc ("C4XD"), a leader in rational drug discovery and design, is pleased to announce that it has entered into a research collaboration with the University of Oxford's Structural Genomics Consortium department ("SGC-Oxford").

SGC-Oxford is part of the Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine and consists of around 100 scientists who collaborate widely with major pharmaceutical companies and the worldwide academic network, including several other University Departments, such as the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, the Botnar Research Centre and the Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences (NDORMS). These scientists combine world-class expertise in therapeutic target validation, protein expression, assay development and protein structural information.

Under the terms of the collaboration announced today, C4XD will be granted access to structural, biological and therapeutic information that SGC-Oxford holds in relation to various therapeutic targets and related assays, as well as initial 'hit' molecules that SGC-Oxford has identified against these targets. C4XD's expertise in ligand design will be used to complement SGC-Oxford's expertise in x-ray crystallography, screening and chemical biology in the identification of new and improved hit molecules against the SGC-Oxford targets. 

Improvements made to SGC-Oxford's existing hit molecules will be the exclusive property of SGC-Oxford, which will make them freely available in line with SGC-Oxford policy, while new compounds independently identified by C4XD will belong to C4XD. There are no cash payments due under the collaboration.

Clive Dix, Chairman of C4XD commented: "We are very excited to be working with such a prestigious organisation as SGC-Oxford. We believe that the comprehensive nature of SGC-Oxford's insights into the structure, biology and chemistry will elegantly complement our own rational drug-design approach, providing a powerful new basis for C4XD to expand its pipeline into exciting new therapeutic areas."

Professor Chas Bountra, Chief Scientist at SGC-Oxford and Professor of Translational Medicine at the University of Oxford, commented: "We are pleased to partner with C4XD and are excited about the potential of this alliance. C4XD has a highly innovative chemistry technology which complements our strong research base to accelerate product development."

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For further information please contact:

C4X Discovery Holdings plc

Piers Morgan, CEO                                                                                                     07912 293832

Zeus Capital

Dan Bate / Jonathan Sharp                                                                                     0161 831 1512

Dominic Wilson                                                                                                          0203 829 5000

FTI Consulting

Matthew Cole / Brett Pollard / Rob Winder / Matthew Moss                 020 3727 1000

About C4XD

C4XD (AIM: C4XD) is a Manchester-based company focused on optimising drug discovery and design. It was founded in 2008 as a spin-out from the University of Manchester. The company uses its NMR-based technology to solve the dynamic 3D structures of a broad range of biomolecules, including peptides, cofactors, oligonucleotides and carbohydrates. Since C4XD's NMR technology shows what shapes active molecules prefer to adopt, it provides high-quality templates for rational drug discovery and design, and valuable conformational information for drug candidate optimisation. In addition, the data is generated faster and more reliably than standard techniques such as X-ray co-crystallography or molecular modelling. C4XD is using its technology in collaboration with the pharmaceutical industry and to build its own proprietary pipeline of high-value therapeutic candidates. For additional information please go to: www.c4xdiscovery.com

About The Structural Genomics Consortium

SGC-Oxford, embedded in the University of Oxford, is part of the larger Structural Genomics Consortium, a not-for-profit, public-private partnership with the directive to carry out basic science of relevance to drug discovery. The core mandate of the SGC, which is implemented by SGC-Oxford is to determine 3D protein structures on a large scale and cost-effectively - targeting human proteins of biomedical importance and proteins from human parasites that represent potential drug targets. In these two areas respectively, the SGC as a whole is now responsible for >25% and >50% of all structures deposited into the Protein Data Bank each year; the SGC, through work carried out by both SCG-Oxford and SGC-Toronto, has released the structures of over 1200 proteins with implications to the development of new therapies for cancer, diabetes, obesity, and psychiatric disorders. For additional information please go to www.sgc.ox.ac.uk

 

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