Syrrx, Inc. Forms Research Collaboration with Roche
Roche to utilize Syrrx high-throughput protein crystallization capabilities
San Diego, CA. – May 2, 2002 – Syrrx, Inc., a high-throughput rational drug discovery company, today announced the formation of a research collaboration with Roche, for high-throughput protein crystallization of select undisclosed protein structures. This alliance will leverage the expertise Syrrx has developed in high-throughput microcrystallization of proteins for the determination of protein structures in multiple therapeutic areas. Roche will apply these structures to its rational drug development efforts. Financial terms of the agreement include an up-front technology access fee to Syrrx as well as a combination of potential milestone payments, success payments and license fees by Roche upon the achievement of collaboration goals.
“Our alliance with Roche brings our unique technologies together in a shared structure-based drug design effort,” said Wendell Wierenga, Ph.D., CEO of Syrrx.
“We are pleased to work with Syrrx, a leader in high throughput structure determination’, said David Brown, Global Head of Discovery Research at Roche. “The state-of-the-art technology that Syrrx has developed complements our in-house technology and provides substantial strengthening to our overall capability in drug discovery”.
The Syrrx technology platform uses novel, proprietary tools to bypass historical bottlenecks in the classical protein structure determination process. Deployed in a streamlined, automated environment, the Syrrx technology platform enables the determination of protein structures more reliably and economically than previously thought possible.
About Syrrx
Syrrx, Inc. is a drug discovery company committed to redefining the way medicines are discovered. Based in San Diego, CA, the company is at the forefront of high-throughput rational drug discovery. Syrrx intends to leverage high-throughput structure determination, high-throughput screening, combinatorial and medicinal chemistry together with computational methods to discover novel small molecule preclinical drug candidates. This process enables a unique "gene to drug" platform based on the ability to perform high-throughput rational drug discovery. Syrrx has structural proteomic and drug discovery collaborations with industry leaders, including Pharmacia Corporation, Celera Genomics, and Cubist Pharmaceuticals. The company has also acquired small molecule assets from Onyx Pharmaceuticals for use in the internal discovery programs at Syrrx.
For more information, please visit the Syrrx website at http://www.syrrx.com.
About Roche
Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Roche is one of the world’s leading research-oriented healthcare groups in the fields of pharmaceuticals, diagnostics and vitamins. Roche’s products and services address prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases, thus enhancing well-being and quality of life. Roche has approximately 64,000 employees and sells its products in over 170 countries.
Research at Roche focuses on significant unmet medical needs in the management of diseases of the central nervous system and genitourinary tract, metabolic disorders, inflammation, bone diseases, cancer, vascular diseases and virology.
