Author name: ASolia

Axxam SpA is happy to announce the foundation and establishment of IMAX Discovery GmbH (IMAX) Based in Dortmund, IMAX is a joint venture between IMD and Axxam SpA in Italy. Axxam is a leading discovery company that offers early-stage discovery services, technologies and lead discovery programs for application in the life science industry. Their tools, core technologies and activities include a wide range of screening assays, specific assay development, high-throughput screening (HTS) campaigns, compound profiling and hit-to-lead activities. The company has particular expertise in the area of GPCRs, ion channels and other flavour relevant targets. IMD is a world class natural product-based discovery company. Founded on a strong technology platform, the company generates proprietary product pipelines of ingredients for functional foods and cosmetics, and also supports partners in research and lead generation. Since 2008, IMD and Axxam have been collaborating to discover natural taste compounds and taste modulators, and have now founded IMAX to establish a separate platform for their successful activities in the taste and flavour arena. The uniqueness of the approach lies in the combination of IMD and Axxam’s technology platforms: by combining their technologies, IMD and Axxam were able to create an innovation engine with superior efficiency and productivity in the discovery of natural product-based functional ingredients. IMAX offers an integrated industrialized approach to the screening, discovery, profiling and provision of innovative natural source-derived functional ingredients for various life science applications. This “pharma like” technology platform utilizes exclusive access to one of the world’s largest natural compound collections as well as leading assay development and high throughput screening assets. This setup allows for an accelerated, efficient and productive discovery of “all natural” new and innovative flavour and taste modifying compounds. The pre-selection of natural compounds based on criteria like target activity and toxicity evaluation through pharma HTS and natural product discovery technology will deliver pre-qualified compounds to the taste panels. As this applied pre-selection process uses harder criteria than traditional approaches, it will logically lead to a substantial increase in probability of success (PoS) in the sensory evaluation. IMAX is currently working on nine development projects covering a broad range of taste applications. If you would like more information about IMAX and its exciting development opportunities, please contact via email Sabrina Corazza (Sabrina.Corazza.sc[at]axxam.com) or Peter Reinemer (Peter.Reinemer[at]intermed-discovery.com)

Axxam and Lonza Announce the Signing of a License Agreement for the Use of Axxam’s Photoproteins in Lonza’s Calcium Biosensors Axxam and Lonza are pleased to announce the signing of a license agreement enabling Lonza to include Axxam’s Photina®, i-Photina®and Clytin® Photoproteins as calcium biosensors in Lonza’s broad range of Clonetics® Primary Cells. This license agreement with Lonza allows Axxam to further validate and exploit its proprietary technology platform on photoproteins, and to address relevant market needs. Clonetics® Primary Sensors build on Lonza’s position as the leading primary cell supplier and industry leading transfection capability to address the widely stated desire by researchers to measure drug targets in a biologically relevant environment. Well characterised primary cells are expanded to generate a sizeable and robust cell bank. The sensor is added to the cell using Lonza’s highly efficient Amaxa® Nucleofector® Technology and substrate is added before the cells are frozen. The customer receives a frozen, ready to use product. Open PDF document

Axxam and Lonza Announce the Signing of a License Agreement for the Use of Axxam’s Photoproteins in Lonza’s Calcium Biosensors Axxam announced its participation in a consortium that has been awarded a grant of EUR 1.5 million by the Regione Lombardia (Metadistretti), covering 3/5 of the total project costs of EUR 2.5 million. This innovative research program is aimed at identifying selective inhibitors for ghrelin O-acyltransferase (GOAT), a very recently identified key enzyme regulating the food intake of a fat-rich diet, thus offering an excellent entry point for the treatment of metabolic diseases. The grant, which is non-refundable and will cover R&D expenses over a 36 month period, is intended to accelerate the development of innovative technologies and products in the local non-food biotechnology cluster (metadistretto). Funds are awarded on the basis of the scientific, technical and economic merit of each proposal. The consortium is led by CISI scrl, a non-profit pharma research company, and also includes Primm srl, a service company for several technology platforms. Axxam will provide its drug discovery platforms, including bio assay development, proprietary HTS technologies and screening compound collections. CISI will contribute with its resources and expertise in medicinal and bioanalytical chemistry, while Primm will provide specific expertise in protein expression and peptide chemistry. This substantial financing from the Regione Lombardia provides important support to Axxam’s business strategy in generating lead compounds for targets associated with high medical needs.

Alessandro Sidoli appointed President of Assobiotec for the 3-year period 2010-2012 During the Annual General Assembly held in Rome on 20 May 2010, Alessandro Sidoli was appointed the new President of Assobiotec for the 3-year period 2010-2012. Assobiotec is the Italian Association for the Development of Biotechnology, representing more than 100 companies and science & technology parks operating in Italy in various biotech-related fields: pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, agro-food, fine chemicals, environment, processing industry and equipment. They include emerging biotech companies and small to medium enterprises, as well as the biotech divisions of large organizations. Alessandro is the co-founder and currently Chief Executive Officer of Axxam, as well as a member of the Board of Directors of Externautics SpA. During the ‘90s he founded and served as Chief Executive Officer of Primm and was also Director of Technology Transfer at San Raffaele in Milan.

Axxam announces appointment of Prof. Hanno Wild to Board of Directors Axxam shareholders approved the appointment of Prof. Dr. Hanno Wild as member of the Board of Directors. Prof. Dr. Hanno Wild is Head of Global Lead Generation and Optimization within Global Drug Discovery at Bayer Schering Pharma (BSP). Prof. Wild is responsible for all research activities with respect to generation and optimization of new chemical entities (NCE) up to preclinical development at all BSP research sites (Beijing, Berlin, Wuppertal). Before the Schering integration in 2007 Prof. Wild was Senior Vice President Discovery Europe, heading all BHC Pharma research activities at the German research site in Wuppertal. From 2002-2006 he worked as Vice President and Head of Medicinal Chemistry in Wuppertal. Before that time he had various responsibilities at the Medicinal Chemistry Department in Wuppertal, e. g. as a section head, responsible for the Therapeutic area “Atherosclerosis“. From 1994-1996 he was delegated to the Bayer Pharma Research Center in West Haven, Connecticut. In West Haven Hanno started the first projects of Bayer in the cancer field including the project leading to the marketed product Nexavar. In 2008 Hanno was appointed honorary professor at the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität, Bonn.

Polyphor Ltd and Axxam SpA Announce Ion Channel Collaboration Polyphor Ltd – a clinical stage biotech company applying its proprietary drug discovery research platforms to address protein-protein interactions and other challenging targets and Axxam SpA – a leading company in conducting early-stage discovery research programs for the life science industry, are pleased to announce a joint discovery agreement with a synergistic combination of their discovery platforms. Under the terms of the collaboration the two companies will work together to discover and develop innovative drug candidates for selected therapeutic areas such as pain, inflammation, and metabolic disorders. Axxam will apply its expertise and outstanding Hit Discovery platforms and capabilities and Polyphor will provide its unique, proprietary PEM finder® library for screening together with its expertise in medicinal chemistry, drug discovery and development. The collaboration comprises several discovery programs addressing very attractive ion channel based targets. Open PDF document

Axxam Receives US Patent for Innovative Technology Photina® Axxam is pleased to announce the award of US Patent number US 7,601,805 B2, entitled “Photoprotein with improved bioluminescence”, describing the company’s proprietary photoprotein known as Photina®. The invention provides a chimeric photoprotein with improved luminescent activity and its use as a calcium indicator in reporter gene systems and in cell-based assays for the detection and measurement of intracellular calcium. This novel calcium-detecting photoprotein is applicable to a large number of different screening platforms for the pharmaceutical industry and for the study of any biological process involving calcium release.

Fast Forward, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and Axxam SpA join Forces to Accelerate Development of Treatments for Multiple Sclerosis and Type 1 Diabetes Fast Forward, LLC, the commercial drug development arm of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), the leader in research leading to a cure for type 1 diabetes in the world entered a collaborative partnership with Axxam SpA – a leading company in conducting early-stage discovery research programs for the life science industry – to develop new treatments for two autoimmune diseases, multiple sclerosis (MS) and type 1 diabetes (T1D). Under the terms of the agreement, Axxam will screen its extensive chemical library to identify compounds that can target specific ion channels in the immune system. Ion channels are tiny pores on the surface of immune cells that control the influx of charged particles and allow the cells to become activated to perform their natural surveillance and protection functions. Recent studies have found that immune cells in MS and T1D contain high levels of a specific ion channel, Kv1.3, and that the hyperactivity of this channel contributes to the dysfunction of the immune system in MS and T1D. If the initial research is successful, Axxam will have identified compounds that modulate Kv1.3 ion channel activities, and these will be further developed by the company as potential therapies for MS and T1D. The agreement with Axxam is the first of its kind between cross-disciplinary patient advocacy organizations and represents a new frontier in which groups such as JDRF and Fast Forward ally to lessen the risk of drug discovery and accelerate the development of new therapies that can impact multi-disorders. Open PDF document

Dompé farmaceutici and Axxam Announce the Extension of Their Drug Discovery and Development Collaboration Dompé farmaceutici SpA and Axxam SpA announced today the renewal of the existing research collaboration for the discovery and development of novel drugs based on GPCRs and ion channel targets. Scientists from both companies will continue their joint programs for the drug discovery process in relevant disease areas. Steps in the process include target biology, target-based screening, medicinal chemistry, pharmacology, and preclinical and clinical development. Dompé will bring expertise in the field of medicinal chemistry, oriented to the rational drug design of small molecular weight GPCRs modulators and in the pre-clinical and clinical development of innovative drugs. Axxam will contribute its expertise in lead discovery programs, based on a long experience in target biology, assay development, a careful selected large compound collection and high-throughput screening with high relevance for the discovery of modulators for GPCRs and ion channels. The number of disease targets, associated therapeutic areas and financial terms of the research collaboration are not disclosed by the companies.

CyBio and Axxam Develop a New System for High Throughput Screening – Expanding Capabilities in Robotic HTS CyBio AG (www.cybio-ag.com), a worldwide leading life science company, and Axxam SpA, a leading discovery company, announce that they have developed, installed and fully validated a new state-of-the-art screening station to be used by Axxam in running hit discovery campaigns with automated luminescence and fluorescence screening systems. The new workstation, which will run in parallel to another CyBio workstation, is a customized, multi-functional automation platform that allows flexible adaptation to different assay conditions using high-density 384 plates. A central CyBi®-Well vario high parallel pipetting system unites two major working areas. Cooled storage system, peeler, sealer and plate heating stations frame the area for compound management. The screening area not only consists of a pipetting system, a dispenser, a washer, high-capacity stacking and incubation devices with lid handling options, but also of two readers, a FLIPRTETRA (Molecular Device) and a PHERAstarPlus (BMG Labtech). They can be used to acquire fluorescent or luminescent readouts, both in cell-based or biochemical assays. All modules are integrated by a Stäubli 6-axis robot and a KiNEDx 4-axis robot that ensure high speed and precision in plate transfers. The system as a whole is controlled by the CyBio® Scheduler software that manages automatic parallelization of processes, consistent system utilization and time uniformity across screening. This results in very high consistency in assay performance and in a throughput that ranges from 35,000 for long acquisition-time readings to 47,000 test points per day. Axxam will benefit from broader access to automated high throughput screening (uHTS) and will consolidate its leading position as an important discovery partner for target-based screening discovery programs.