News
January 22, 2004 - Cyprotex provides support to drug discovery projects at AstraZeneca
Cyprotex (LSE: CRX) today announces a new agreement with AstraZeneca to provide essential information on compounds from their drug discovery projects.
The agreement will make use of Cyprotex's Cloe Screen™ in vitro technology which cost-effectively profiles new compounds for a variety of properties that affect their ability to be processed by the body. Cyprotex will deliver data regarding the potential absorption of AstraZeneca's compounds through the gut - essential information to assess their suitability as drugs that will be administered in pill form. The assay is performed on batches of up to 94 compounds at a time to deliver information on the amount of compound that permeates through the gut wall, whether it is pumped back in again and classification of the compounds into high, medium or low permeability. This is useful information for prioritising the best compounds to promote through the next stages of drug development - saving time and money by enabling an early focus on compounds with the greatest potential to succeed as drugs.
AstraZeneca selected Cyprotex following a series of focussed evaluations of Cyprotex's technology. Ongoing work will involve analysis of monthly batches of compounds over a six-month period. Cyprotex already supports drug discovery projects at AstraZeneca's M�lndal site in Sweden.
Robert Atwater, Cyprotex Chief Executive Officer, commented: "We are pleased to be expanding our relationship with AstraZeneca to support additional therapeutic areas at different sites within the organization. It is a great a tribute to the calibre of our scientific team and our technology to have been selected by AstraZeneca to supply this important information on their discovery compounds."
For further information:
Robert Atwater, Chairman and Chief Executive
Cyprotex plc
Tel: +44 (0) 1625 505100
rmatwater@cyprotex.com
www.cyprotex.com
Henry Harrison-Topham / Heather Salmond
Bankside Consultants Limited
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7444 4141
heather.salmond@bankside.com
www.bankside.com
