Sygnature Discovery, the UK-based provider of integrated drug-discovery services, has formed a strategic alliance with Germany’s Proteros, known for its protein structure-based drug-discovery platform.

Under the agreed collaboration, Sygnature and Proteros will provide integrated services to advance clients’ drug-discovery projects.

The two companies have already teamed up on a number of drug-discovery programmes. “The close working relationship that we have established will be cemented through this strategic alliance,” commented Dr Simon Hirst, chief executive officer of Sygnature.

The alliance also adds a key component to Sygnature’s ‘federated’ CRO (contract research organisation) model, the partners noted.

This provides fully-integrated drug discovery services to the pharmaceutical industry through existing strategic relationships with Cyprotex Discovery (absorption/distribution/metabolism/elimination (ADME)/toxicology), Saretius (preclinical pain/central nervous system and metabolic-disease models) and Pneumolabs (preclinical respiratory models).

Fully integrated

Sygnature can now offer its customers “a world class, fully integrated drug-discovery service where novel compounds can be designed, synthesised and screened in vitro at Sygnature, X-ray protein-structure analysis undertaken at Proteros, metabolic liability and toxicity assessed at Cyprotex and then tested at Saretius and Pneumolabs in pharmocodynamic and disease-relevant models”, Hirst explained. 

Proteros will also continue to provide X-ray protein-structure analysis independently under the new arrangement.