CellCentric and ZoBio Partner to Discover Lead Compounds Against Epigenetic Therapeutic Drug Targets

ZoBio and CellCentric have stated that they are working together to discover lead compounds against CellCentric’s portfolio of epigenetic therapeutic drug targets. Epigenetics is the study of changes in gene expression or cellular phenotype that do not involve alterations in the underlying DNA sequence.

ZoBio’s breakthrough technology Targeted Immobilized NMR Screening (TINS) will be utilized to screen its fragment library against targets nominated by CellCentric. Hit to lead and lead optimisation activities will be further supported by ZoBio’s biophysical and medicinal chemistry research services.

The Chief Scientific Officer at ZoBio Dr. Gregg Siegal, said “We are clearly happy that CellCentric has chosen ZoBio as a partner in this challenging project. Epigenetics is an exciting, yet challenging, field. We feel that our unique combination of biophysical and biochemical approaches yields significant advantages in developing small molecule inhibitors of these targets with optimal drug-like properties.”

Dr Anthony Brown, Scientific Director at CellCentric, said “The ZoBio TINS technology offers a unique opportunity to identify novel hit matter against our epigenetic drug targets. The interaction with ZoBio will allow us to expand the breath of our hit finding capabilities and will accelerateour on-going drug discovery activities. We are delighted to enter into this agreement to screen against thesenovel and exciting epigenetic drug targets.”

About ZoBio BV
Starting with its core TINS fragment screening technology, ZoBio provides an array of biophysics services to support fragment-based drug discovery. These services form an integrated pipeline that includes fragment discovery, validation/characterisation by orthogonal methods such as SPR, and NMR-based structural biology services. ZoBio has used its cutting edge capabilities to discover fragment inhibitors for variety of targets including kinases, protein-protein interaction, anti-virals and membrane proteins such as GPCRs and ligand gated ion channels.

About CellCentric
CellCentric is a drug discovery company focused on targeting epigenetic processes for new treatments for cancer. The company identifies novel cellular mechanisms and targets which it then prioritises and takes into small molecule drug discovery. Active programmes include inhibitors to histone methyltransferasesand epigenetic enzymes that act via ubiquitination. The company benefits from relationships with a global network of leading researchers.

For more information or to discuss epigenetic therapeutic drug targets please contact us directly.