ZeClinics and the University of California, San Francisco join forces against epilepsy License Agreement for the Commercialisation of Zebrafish model for Childhood Epilepsy Will Provide New Opportunities for Novel Antiepileptic Drug Discovery © ZeClinics SL San Francisco, Barcelona, July 3rd 2018 – ZeClinics SL, a leading zebrafish preclinical CRO, announced today that it has signed a licensing agreement with the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) for the commercialisation of drug discovery assays in childhood epilepsy by using scn1Lab mutant zebrafish. This line, only the first of many to follow, was characterised by Drs. Scott Baraban and Aliesha Griffin at UCSF. It mimics the convulsive behaviour and seizures associated with epilepsy and has a proven track record in successfully identifying new treatments against epileptic disorders, and has three compounds currently entering clinical phases I and II. ZeClinics and Dr. Scott Baraban’s team share a common dedication to the zebrafish model and the study of epilepsy with gene editing techniques such as CRISPR/Cas9. Based in the San Francisco biotech hub, Baraban’s laboratory specialises in neurobiological research with zebrafish and stem cell therapies. ZeClinics in turn is headquartered in Barcelona, one of the top European bioclusters, and focuses on zebrafish-based services across a broad array of therapeutic areas. By combining UCSF’s zebrafish line and ZeClinics’ phenotypic screening expertise, both partners expect to streamline preclinical antiepileptic drug discovery for biopharma companies across the world. “We are excited to experience the major benefits of employing zebrafish scn1Lab mutants for screening our clients’ compound libraries,” says Dr. Davide D’Amico, CEO and Co-Founder of ZeClinics. “This will be the first time this zebrafish disease model is commercially available to the preclinical market.” By in-licensing innovative technologies from prestigious academic institutions such as UCSF, ZeClinics aims to broaden currently available neurodegenerative disease models and offer a more tailored approach to antiepileptic drug screenings. About Zeclinics SL ZeClinics is an innovative biotech firm committed to streamlining discovery and preclinical development of novel compounds with zebrafish - an ideal vertebrate model for fast, cost-effective and highly predictive assessments. We combine in-house academic expertise with a diversified, cutting-edge portfolio: from CRISPR-licensed gene editing, high-throughput safety and efficacy assays to disease models. For more information, please visit www.zeclinics.com or contact us at http://www.zeclinics.com/contact/ See also more information on UCSF at https://www.ucsf.edu/ and on Dr Baraban's laboratory at http://barabanlab.ucsf.edu/ Keywords zebrafish, epilepsy, UCSF, ZeClinics, neurodegenerative Countries Spain, United States
