AMRI Selected As A Dedicated Chemical Biology Consortium Center To Expand Drug Development

ALBANY, N.Y., June 14, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- AMRI (NASDAQ: AMRI) today announced that its Buffalo, N.Y. site has been selected to participate as a Dedicated Chemical Biology Consortium  (CBC) Center for the Experimental Therapeutics (NExT) Program, centered at the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research.

The Frederick National Lab, sponsored by the National Cancer Institute, is managing the expansion of the Chemical Biology Consortium to 22 sites around the country with world-class expertise in high-throughput screening, structural biology, medicinal chemistry, compound profiling, cancer cell biology, and animal models for oncology. AMRI is participating in the consortium via a research subcontract from Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc., prime contractor for the national lab.

The Chemical Biology Consortium is the discovery engine for the NCI Experimental Therapeutics (NExT) Program focused on advancing new cancer therapeutics against novel molecular and genetic cancer targets. AMRI's Buffalo facility, which is one of the only U.S.-based fully integrated drug discovery centers with expertise with biology, chemistry and pharmacology, will provide a variety of drug discovery services to the consortium for a period of five years.

"Being selected as a dedicated center for the NExT program is a reflection of AMRI's commitment and strength as a partner for oncology drug development," said Christopher Conway, senior vice president of Discovery and Development Services at AMRI. "Our integrated drug discovery facility in Buffalo combines multiple scientific disciplines, state of the art technologies, and the capabilities to advance from compound discovery through pharmaceutical product manufacturing all under one roof. This accelerates drug development by promoting cross-disciplinary collaboration, enabling faster transfer of data and providing partners with greater access via single points of contact. This is especially valuable in oncology drug development, where there is a tremendous emphasis for drug researchers to pursue new and more complex avenues of cancer drug development."

AMRI has more than two decades of experience in successfully identifying, developing and advancing lead compounds through the drug development process. AMRI's integrated drug discovery center in Buffalo comprises biologists, medicinal chemists and pharmacologists with specific experience in the area of oncology, antibacterials and neurodegenerative disorders. Through collaborative partnerships, AMRI's integrated drug discovery center provides a variety of technologies that include proprietary informatics to enable increased data analysis for accelerated process development. AMRI's drug discovery expertise is guided by capabilities that include protein production and purification, high throughput screening, cancer cell biology, chemistry and compound profiling, as well as scale-up synthesis and formulation to support in vivo studies.

About The NCI Experimental Therapeutics (NExT) Program
The mission of the NExT Program is to advance clinical practice and bring improved therapies to patients with cancer by supporting the most promising new drug discovery and development projects. The NCI partners with companies to facilitate the milestone-driven progression of new anticancer drugs (small molecules, biologics) and imaging agents towards clinical evaluation and registration.

About AMRI
Albany Molecular Research Inc. (AMRI) is a global contract research and manufacturing organization that has been working with the Life Sciences industry to improve patient outcomes and the quality of life for more than two decades. With locations in North America, Europe and Asia, our key business segments include Discovery and Development Services (DDS), Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API), and Drug Product Manufacturing (DPM). Our DDS segment provides comprehensive services from hit identification to IND, including expertise with diverse chemistry, library design and synthesis, in vitro biology and pharmacology, drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics, as well as natural products. API supports the chemical development and cGMP manufacture of complex API, including potent and cytotoxic compounds, controlled substances, steroids, peptides, hormones, and sterile API. DPM supports development through commercial scale production of complex liquid-filled and lyophilized parenterals, sterile suspensions and ophthalmic formulations. For more information about AMRI, please visit our website at www.amriglobal.com or follow us on Twitter (@amriglobal).

About the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research
The Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research is a federal national laboratory sponsored by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH). The Frederick National Lab collaborates with academic, commercial, nonprofit, and government researchers to address urgent problems in biomedical research consistent with NCI's mission. The national lab is government-owned, contractor-operated facility with Leidos Biomedical Research Inc., as its prime contractor.

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SOURCE AMRI