Advancell and DiverDrugs announce the extension of their agreement for the codevelopment of new neuroprotective agents

Advanced In Vitro Cell Technologies SL (Advancell) and DiverDrugs, SL announced an extension of their agreement to complete the preclinical development of DiverDrugs early stage program in neuroprotection, with the addition of the lead compound DD01012 to the original program.

Under the terms of the agreement, DiverDrugs will be responsible of the full characterization of the mechanism of action of the compound and of the completion of a preliminar pharmaceutical development, whereas Advancell will be responsible of project management and business development, as well as of the management of the basic ADMET package using both its in house capabilities and contracted research. The final goal of the agreement is to add value to the project by bringing it to a pre-IND stage attractive to potential licensees. In exchange of its services and finantial contribution, Advancell will receive from DiverDrugs a share of all revenues generated after licensing out the compound.
This agreement is the logic consequence of a very successful and smooth collaboration during last year, and represents a step forward towards the consolidation of the neuroprotection program of both companies. We learned a lot with our first lead, DD612, and we hope that both DD01012 and DD612 can make it into the clinic within next year. Our collaboration with DiverDrugs also illustrates the maturation of the biotech sector in the Barcelona environment. Our company wants to become a single stop, customized research hub to support early stage decision-making in the biopharmaceutical industry, and we are a logic match for early stage development companies such as DiverDrugs. We can complement their very valuable chemistry so that it can climb to the next step in the value chain, thus enabling them to increase their chance of success and the potential return of their license out early strategy. For Advancell this agreement is an example on how we can use our services as exchange money for the obtention of mid and long term sustainability through strategic collaborations, explained Luis Ruiz-Avila Ph.D Chief Executive Officer of Advancell.
Cristina Carreño, Ph.D. DiverDrugs CEO, commented... We are very pleased to have signed this new agreement on DD01012 with Advancell. The combination of our drug discovery platform together with the in vitro ADMET know-how of Advancell will allow us to maximize the value of DD01012, which represents a promising therapeutics for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer, Parkinson or Huntington. It is important to underline that the structure of this agreement will help DiverDrugs to meet our strategic objective to find appropriate licensees for our neuroprotection program.
About DD612 and DD1012
DD612 and DD1012 are novel neuroprotectants discovered by DiverDrugs, with potential indications in chronic indications like Alzheimers, Parkinsons, Hungtinton or MLS. They exert their protective effect by blocking the apoptotic cascade through a novel receptor-mediated mechanism of action not related to NMDA or AMPA glutamate receptors. DiverDrugs plans to license out the compounds before phase I, once the codevelopment plan agreed with Advancell is completed.
About Advancell,Advancell is operational since the end of 2001. The company has been set up by researchers of the University of Barcelona and Valencia. Its basic research platforms are in cancer, skin diseases, skin cosmetics, ADMEt, inflammation and biocompatibility. The company has established an extensive network of academic collaborators that allows a great flexibility in a la carte exploratory research. Current strategic cooperation agreements enable Advancell to access a wide variety of techniques related to early preclinical research. At present Advancell occupies laboratory and office space at the Barcelona Science Park. It has operations in Valencia and Barcelona. Advancell have a staff of 20, most of them with advanced degrees.
About DiverDrugs ,DiverDrugs is an emerging drug discovery company using a strong combinatorial chemistry platform to design and develop safer and more effective nervous system modulators. DiverDrugs is targeting several major pharmaceutical markets including pain and inflammation, inflammatory bowel diseases, urinary incontinence, certain dermatological disorders and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimers disease. Headquartered in LHospìtalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain, DiverDrugs has also operations in Elche, Alicante, Spain.
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SOURCE: Advanced In Vitro Cell Technologies, S.L. and DiverDrugs, SL,

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