BioSeek, Merck Serono sign new BioMAP collaboration agreement

BioSeek, LLC, a subsidiary of Asterand plc (LSE: ATD), a pioneer in the application of predictive human biology to drug discovery, announced today that it has signed a new, three-year collaboration agreement with Merck Serono, a division of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. The new agreement extends and expands the companies' previous three-year agreement from 2009. Under the new research plan, BioSeek will expand the use of its proprietary BioMAP platform to evaluate Merck Serono small molecule compounds and proteins across multiple therapeutic areas in support of target differentiation, lead selection and optimization and nomination of candidates for preclinical development at Merck Serono.

Jack Davis, Chairman and Interim Chief Executive Officer of Asterand commented:

"We highly value our long-standing relationship with Merck Serono. The studies carried out by BioSeek for Merck Serono over the past three years have demonstrated that BioMAP Platform can be used to reliably advance promising molecules through preclinical evaluation. Our scientists have worked closely and productively with the Merck Serono team, and we look forward to our continuing and expanding research with them."

BioMAP® Systems are primary cell-based models of human disease biology, designed to replicate the intricate cell and pathway interactions as they are observed in human pharmacology and toxicology. Depending on their mechanism of action, compounds induce specific patterns of changes in these systems (BioMAP® profiles) that can be compared to a large number of reference profiles in the BioMAP® Database. Assessment with BioMAP® provides early insight into human pharmacological and toxicological properties of compounds, including on-and off-target effects, dose responses, and the discrimination of closely related compounds.