February 1st, 2013 – RaQualia Pharma Inc. (RaQualia) and Interprotein Corporation (Interprotein) today announced that the both companies entered into a collaborative research agreement. The partnership will focus on drug discovery research for a specific protein-protein interaction (PPI)* inhibitor in the disease domain of pain.
Under the agreement, RaQualia and Interprotein will collaborate to identify new drug candidates, combining RaQualia’s core expertise in drug discovery and development, and Interprotein’s platform technology, INTENDD, on in silico screening of PPI inhibitors.
Interprotein will be eligible to receive upfront payment, contingency payment and further research milestones from RaQualia under the agreement. RaQualia will be eligible to receive the world-wide exclusive rights of all results from this collaborative research.
*About PPI:
Protein-protein interaction (PPI) is the general term of biological responses that are produced by binding of two or more protein molecules. For instance, it indicates a binding of cytokine to its receptor followed by intracellular signal transduction from the receptor. Thus, PPI plays an important role in the pathophysiology of many diseases.
About RaQualia:
RaQualia Pharma Inc. is an innovative life science company engaging in the discovery, development and marketing of clinical and pre-clinical candidates for unmet medical needs worldwide. For additional information, please visit www.raqualia.com
About Interprotein:
Interprotein is focusing on research and development of small molecule medicines based on unique in silico molecular design strategy, INTENDD (INTerprotein’s Engine for New Drug Design). INTENDD consists of identification of small molecule binding site with real 3D molecular models and in silico screening with SBSG (Structure-Based Scaffold Generation) method, and exercise its power over drug discovery research of not only PPI inhibitors but also non-PPI inhibitors.
Contact:
RaQualia Pharma Inc.
Discovery Research
Shuzo WATANABE, Ph.D.
TEL: +81-569-84-0700
FAX: +81-569-74-1381
E-mail: ask@raqualia.com
Interprotein Corporation
R&D and BD Division
Hirotsugu KOMATSU, Ph.D.
TEL: +81-(0)42-770-9477
FAX: +81-(0)42-770-9477
E-mail: info@interprotein.com
