Chronogen and Inpharzam Ricerche enter agreement to screen innovative drug candidates
MONTREAL, Canada and TAVERNE, Switzerland, July 1 /CNW Telbec/ -
Chronogen Inc. (Montreal, Canada), a drug discovery company developing novel
therapeutics to treat age-related diseases and Inpharzam Ricerche (Taverne,
Switzerland), subsidiary of the international chemicals and pharmaceutical
company, Zambon Group S.p.A, jointly announced today that they have entered
into an R&D collaboration agreement with the aim of identifying small
molecules for the treatment of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases induced
by oxidative damage and/or lipids disorders.
Under this agreement, Chronogen Inc. will screen the library of Inpharzam
Ricerche using its proprietary, phenotype based, in vivo screening assays
(nematode C. elegans mutants). C.elegans is a unique in vivo model to screen,
in a rapid, efficient and cost-effective manner, drugs that modulate reactive
oxygen species (ROS) production or drugs that regulate lipids and lipoprotein
levels. Using this unique high throughput screening method, more than 35,000
original medicinal chemistry compounds and combinatorial chemistry molecules
will be tested.
“This collaboration with Inpharzam Ricerche will allow to rapidly
complete our existing panel of identified drug candidates to treat major age-
related diseases such as vascular complications of diabetes,
ischemia/reperfusion injury, dyslipidemia and atherosclerosis”, said Max
Fehlmann, Chronogen’s C.E.O. “These include ROS modulators, a new class of
antioxidants, as well as new non statin hypolipidemic drugs”.
Carlo Di Padova, Zambon Group’s R&D Director explains: “screening our
original library with this unique in vivo screening approach and bringing our
extensive experience in drug optimization of our DOiT Research Centre located
in Taverne, Switzerland, will contribute to efficiently discover and develop
new drugs to treat metabolic and cardiovascular diseases”.
About Chronogen Inc.
Chronogen Inc., a privately-held drug discovery company, is a leader in
the identification of drug targets that control metabolic pathways underlying
age-related diseases. Chronogen has developed unique rapid and reliable in
vivo assays aimed at the identification of small molecules affecting
cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. The mission of Chronogen is to design
and develop innovative small-molecule drugs to decrease the production of
Reactive Oxygen Species in oxidative stress related diseases including
Vascular complications of diabetes and reperfusion injury as well as Low
Density Lipoproteins in dyslipidemia.
More information on Chronogen Inc. can be found on:
http://www.chronogen.com
About Inpharzam Ricerche
Inpharzam Ricerche is the research center of Zambon Group, a leading
pharmaceutical and chemical multinational with a reputation for inventive and
innovative thinking, flexibility and customer focus. Operating directly on
three continents - Europe, South America and Asia - with over 2,300 employees
in 16 countries and consolidated sales in the region of (euro) 434m, Zambon is
a multicultural Group with close links to its local markets and the
international research community alike. These strengths, combined with
diversified research, product and distribution channel strategies, ensure that
the Zambon Group consistently outperforms its competitors and the market. More
information on Inpharzam Ricerche and Zambon Group S.p.A. can be found on:
www.inpharzam.ch and www.zambongroup.com
