SAN DIEGO and OSS, Netherlands, Oct. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- BrainCells Inc. (BCI) and Organon, the human health care business unit of Akzo Nobel , today announced they will collaborate in the discovery and development of drugs for the treatment of central nervous system (CNS) disorders.
BCI will use its proprietary technology in the area of neurogenesis -- the process by which pre-existing stem cells in the adult human brain produce new brain tissue, including neurons -- to identify neuroscience applications for compounds formerly in the Organon clinical-stage pipeline. When BCI determines the therapeutic utility for a drug candidate, the companies will work together to develop and reposition the drug for its new use.
"We can bring new life to compounds that might otherwise sit on the shelf," said James A. Schoeneck, BCI's CEO. "The collaboration with Organon is a validation of our drug selection technology and development capabilities. By focusing on compounds that have already been tested for safety in the clinic, we can accelerate drug development while minimizing risk."
David Nicholson, Executive Vice President of Research and Development of Organon, added: "BCI's neurogenesis screening platform is a breakthrough technology. We believe that this technology and the company's process for harnessing it will enable us to maximize the value of compounds that were found to be safe in the clinic but did not meet their efficacy endpoints. Moreover, our global development and commercialization expertise positions us to fully exploit the value of drugs that are the end-products of this collaboration."
About Organon
Organon -- with shared head offices in Roseland, N.J., and Oss, The Netherlands -- creates, manufactures and markets innovative prescription medicines that improve the health and quality of human life. Through a combination of independent growth and business partnerships, Organon strives to remain or become one of the leading biopharmaceutical companies in each of its core therapeutic fields: fertility, gynecology, anesthesia and neuroscience. Research areas include immunology and oncology. Organon products are sold in over 100 countries, of which more than 60 have an Organon subsidiary. Organon is the human health care business unit of Akzo Nobel.
About BrainCells Inc.
BrainCells Inc. (BCI) is a San Diego company that is applying breakthrough neurogenesis-based technology to accelerate the discovery and development of central nervous system (CNS) medicines. Using its predictive screening platform, BCI can identify compounds with neurogenic properties, select those with the highest probability of success in the clinic and direct their repositioning and development for a wide range of CNS diseases. The company is developing a pipeline of clinical-stage candidates through licensing agreements and collaborations with large pharmaceutical companies, including Mitsubishi Pharma and Organon. For more information, visit http://www.braincellsinc.com.
Media Contacts: Organon BrainCells Monique Mols, David Schull or Tim Tilson Director Media Relations Noonan Russo +31 412 66 54 40 +1-858-546-4810 monique.mols@organon.comdavid.schull@eurorscg.comtim.tilson@eurorscg.com
BrainCells Inc.CONTACT: David Schull, david.schull@eurorscg.com, or Tim Tilson,tim.tilson@eurorscg.com, both of Noonan Russo for BrainCells,+1-858-546-4810; or Monique Mols, Director Media Relations of Organon,+31-412-66-54-40, monique.mols@organon.com
Web site: http://www.braincellsinc.com/
