Merz Pharmaceuticals and NascaCell Announce Collaboration Agreement to use Aptamers in the Validation of several Targets

31-Aug-2004

Frankfurt and Munich. Merz Pharmaceuticals and NascaCell announced that they have entered into a collaboration agreement. The focus is on the use of aptamers for the enhanced validation of different targets for products in research and development at Merz Pharmaceuticals.

"We are delighted to enter into this collaboration which gives us access to the promising tool of aptamers", commented Dr. Guenter Quack, Director and Head Preclinical R&D of Merz Pharmaceuticals.

Dr. Andreas Jenne, CEO of NascaCell IP stressed the importance of the collaboration for further international establishment of the use of aptamers in the drug discovery and target validation process.

Aptamers are synthetic oligonucleotides that are able to bind to target proteins with high affinity and specificity. Because of the small molecule-like binding characteristics of aptamers, they typically show strong inhibition of protein function. NascaCell IP offers aptamers as tools for accelerated target validation and drug discovery.

NascaCell IP is a global leader in the automated production and marketing of custom aptamers. Aptamers are synthetic drug-like molecules that can specifically knock-down protein functions in living cells and organisms. Their rapid production and convenient handling mean aptamers can be used in numerous drug discovery applications, such as animal studies or high throughput drug screening.

Dr. Lucio A.A. van Rooijen at van Rooijen & Partners mediated the business deal.

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