Amyris Inc (NASDAQ:AMRS) announced through a press release that it has entered into a research agreement with Janssen Biotech, Inc. The agreement also retains commercial license option with Janssen.
Screening target
The terms of the agreement state that the collaboration will allow the use of Amyris’s µPharm platform technology in order to create a customized library of both natural and natural-like therapeutic compounds, which will then be tested against Janssen’s identified targets. The new technology is different from conventional approaches, where screening is applied to thousands of chemical compounds to find a drug candidate. Under µPharm platform, the screening starts with the target itself to identify natural compound structures so as to create diversity around those compounds. Overall, the technology accelerates both identification and market commercialization.
This collaboration attests the reality that nature serves as a great source for therapeutics, right from statins to antibiotics. However, such potential often remains unrecognized or undiscovered due to unavailability or scarcity. Amyris’s µPharm platform technology comes into play during this time at it helps to bridge discovery and production process for natural compounds. The platform not only acts as a mode to reach out to the natural compound but also helps into the formation of new diversity.
No more guessing
Cynthia Bryant, Amyris Senior Vice President Corporate Development & Collaborations, said that the partnership with Janssen is in line with the company’s overall business model. The said model includes upfront development investment as well as an opportunity to earn long-term revenue through commercialisation. Bryant added that the company’s platform leads to new area of compounds, which otherwise are inaccessible for new drug discoveries.
Joel Cherry, Amyris’s President, Research, and Development, said that the partnership with Janssen will help the latter to take out the guess work from new drug discovery. This will speed up target interaction and eventually allow new therapies to be discovered faster.
