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Kalamazoo, MI - The Michigan High Throughput Screening Center (MHTSC) and AFID Therapeutics, (Lansing, MI) with support of Michigan's Core Technology Alliance, today announced an exciting collaboration where AFID will provide MHTSC with novel compounds; increasing the chemical diversity of the MHTSC compound library, and increasing drug development prospects for life science companies.
Under the agreement, AFID will provide approximately 3,500 compounds to the MHTSC. All projects at MHTSC are conducted on a fee for service basis, without intellectual property requirements.
"Our mission at MHTSC is to provide access to state of the art screening technology and expertise," said Rob Kilkuskie, Ph.D., Senior Director, MHTSC." Our collaboration with AFID allows us to expand the diversity of our compound library. We believe this will greatly facilitate our clients' drug discovery research".
"This is an important part of our strategy to use our chemistry to bring the many technical and intellectual assets of the pharmaceutical sciences we have here in Michigan to bear on the global industry in a way that benefits us all," said Rawle Hollingsworth, Ph.D., President of AFID. "I am confident that this collaboration will be a success for both parties. AFID's propriety compounds will add significant value to MHTSC screens and thus to the scientific and pharmaceutical communities, while solidifying AFID as a premier supplier of new advanced drug candidates and drug intermediates," added Dean Wade, AFID's Vice President for Business Development. MHTSC expects that the AFID compounds can become novel 'hits' in drug screening projects, providing additional value to clients.
"We are always looking for ways to expand drug discovery possibilities for our clients," said Kathy Johnson, Director of Business Development for MHTSC. "The AFID compounds will expand our drug discovery capability by providing advanced chemical entities and drug candidates that are generally not available elsewhere. The AFID compounds together with the MHTSC existing library, assay development, and screening expertise will provide substantial drug discovery advantages, without IP issues."
The collaboration is being funded by a grant from the Core Technology Alliance Catalytic Fund. The Catalytic Fund was established as part of the MI 21st Century Grant award.
The CTA is a collaborative network of advanced technology service facilities located at major research institutions across Michigan. The fee-for-service laboratories support public and private biomedical research in the areas of genomics, proteomics, structural biology, animal models, bioinformatics, bio-imaging, high throughput screening, and antibody technology. Members include University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Wayne State University, Van Andel Research Institute, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo Valley Community College, and Grand Valley State University.
MHTSC is a not-for-profit, contract research laboratory located at Kalamazoo Valley Community College that provides assay development and state of the art high throughput screening (HTS) services without licensing fees or royalties. The collaboration between AFID and MHTSC will offer a richer compound library and screening solutions for clients - capabilitites that are critical in drug development and research.
AFID Therapeutics (http://afidtherapeutics.com) defines and delivers advanced chemical and biochemical technologies for use in the design, discovery, delivery and development of new drugs. The technology base utilizes the structural richness of carbohydrates to allow intervention and therapies across a wide span of the disease spectrum. Diseases include bacterial and viral infections, cancer, autoimmune disorders, cardiovascular disorders, diabetes, and Alzheimer's and other neurological disorders. Drug targets include kinases, phosphatases, nucleases, glyconsidases, glycosyltransferases, ribosomes, cell membranes and nucleic acids. AFID's chemistry is currently being used by over 70 pharmaceutical and biotech companies all over the world. This list includes the top 10 pharmaceutical companies.
For more information, contact Kathy Johnson (kjohnson@kvcc.edu) or phone 269-353-1560.
If your organization needs access to expert assay development and HTS services without IP issues, or if your company would like a chance to review one of the most diverse compound libraries on the market, contact us.
November 2007 - MHTSC expands in 2007!
July 2007 - First Michigan Partnership to Offer Expanded Scientific Research Solutions
May 2007 - MHTSC participates in 2007 SBS Meeting in Montreal
March 2007 - Drug Discovery Center In Demand August 2006 - First Significant Partnership with CTA
July 2006 - MHTSC Named Finalist for Innovation Award
June 2006 - New Alliance Formed November 2006 - MHTSC Update
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