Onyx Scientific Launches New Amino Acid Range

Chemistry specialist Onyx Scientific is set to launch a range of novel amino acids following an innovative discovery collaboration with Durham University.

The UK-based active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacturer has worked in partnership with the internationally-renowned university over the last year to create a unique range of novel amino acid derivatives for use in research and development.

Amino acids are key constituents of peptides, proteins and a range of drugs as well as finding use in drug discovery research. Onyx Scientifics new portfolio will now be commercialised and made available to pharmaceutical firms for development projects and companies that specialise in supplying research chemicals.

This product development arm represents a growing revenue stream for Onyx Scientific, which predominantly provides outsourced facilities and expertise to help life science companies accelerate drug candidates from discovery, through development, into Phase I/II GMP API manufacturing.

Dr Tony Flinn, chief executive officer at Onyx Scientific, said: "Our alliance with Durham University has been a very successful one in that it has led to the development of a completely novel range of amino acids with unusual side chains for research applications. We can now offer these products to the market on a small scale along with the potential for scale-up to larger quantities using our facilities.

"Given the majority of our work is bound by strict confidentiality agreements, it is great to have the opportunity to showcase one of our partnerships and communicate the products we are able to offer to the research community," added Dr Flinn.

Onyx ScientificÂ’s link with Durham University formed part of the Durham Industrial Bridging Fellowship Scheme. This knowledge transfer initiative involves academia working with industry to mitigate and take advantage of the present economic downturn by transferring expertise and resource to work on new projects.

Dr Steven Cobb, lead academic and lecturer in the department of chemistry at Durham University, said:" This was an exciting project for us to work on with Onyx Scientific. The amino acids prepared have a range of applications not just in peptide chemistry but also as precursors for biological feeding experiments and as novel building blocks in natural product chemistry."

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