Albany Molecular Research, Inc. Partners with National Cancer Institute to Develop Anti-Cancer Drugs
Albany, NY (December 13, 2001) - Albany Molecular Research, Inc. announced the signing of a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the National Cancer Institute to develop anti-cancer compounds.
Under the terms of the five-year agreement, scientists from both AMRI and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) will select available, non-proprietary compounds for biocatalytic derivative synthesis from the NCI's repository. Using its proprietary combinatorial biocatalysis technology, AMRI will prepare derivatives of these lead compounds, with the goal of identifying new analogs that maintain promising anti-cancer activity, while overcoming any limiting properties that may have hindered development of these compounds.
The National Cancer Institute will conduct in vitro biological testing of the compounds produced by AMRI, including evaluation on human xenografts of 60 different types of human cancer cells. NCI will determine the potency of the compounds based on measures of cell growth inhibition and cell destruction, compared to known cancer-fighting agents. Promising lead compounds will undergo additional preclinical evaluation at NCI.
AMRI researchers will use proprietary combinatorial biocatalysis technology to alter the chemical structure of the starting compounds in an effort to improve their efficacy as therapeutic agents. The technology employs enzymes and microbial systems to create derivatives similar to the original starting compounds. These techniques complement traditional chemistry methods used by pharmaceutical researchers, and allow scientists to access specific parts of a molecule that may be inaccessible through traditional methods of organic synthesis.
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