AstraZeneca and X-Chem are to expand their existing drug discovery collaboration, it has emerged. The partnership marks the third agreement between the pair since 2012, and builds on a relationship that has already seen the licensing of a number of novel small molecules across multiple discovery programmes and therapeutic indications.
The new agreement will focus on the synthesis and delivery of custom libraries to the major pharma firm, as well as the transfer of X-Chem’s drug discovery engine DEX, allowing AstraZeneca to screen DNA-encoded libraries in-house.