Cenix BioScience Signs Collaboration and Technology License Agreement for In Vivo siRNA Delivery
Dresden, Germany, and Turnhout, Belgium, May 4, 2011 – Cenix BioScience GmbH, a leading contract research organization specializing in RNAi-based research in vitro and in vivo, today announced that, together with its new subsidiary, Cenix BioScience Belgium bvba (“Cenix”), it has signed a Collaboration and Technology License Agreement with Beerse, Belgium-based Janssen Research & Development, a division of Janssen Pharmaceutica NV (“Janssen”), to improve the in vivo applicability of siRNA-based experimentation, focusing on the further co-development of DARE™, a proprietary Cenix siRNA delivery technology.
The new agreement represents a significant intensification of the research collaboration between Cenix and Janssen ongoing over the past two years, to improve siRNA-based target validation methodologies in vivo for use with CNS indications. The collaboration will also continue making in-depth use of the full range of Cenix strengths in siRNA-based research, including both its well-established high-throughput, high-content RNAi platform for detailed analyses of subcellular delivery paths and its still-growing in vivo RNAi unit using rodent models for several disease areas.
Some of the novel delivery solutions co-developed by the two partners are also expected to carry strong potential for enabling therapeutic applications of siRNAs, including future improvements to DARE™ technology, which will continue to be owned and controlled by Cenix.
“We are very excited to combine the capabilities of our Dresden and Flanders units with those of our expert colleagues at Janssen,” said Dr. Christophe Echeverri, CEO/CSO of Cenix. “We expect that the complementary knowledge and expertise between our teams will further accelerate what has already been a particularly harmonious and productive collaboration.”
About Cenix BioScience GmbH
Now in its 12th year, Cenix BioScience GmbH is a contract research organization specialized in combining advanced applications of RNAi with high-content phenotypic analyses to enhance and accelerate the discovery and non-clinical development of novel therapeutics. Cenix has built up a dominant track record in this field, successfully advancing therapeutic programs for numerous major industry and academic partners by addressing the specific needs of each through fully customized, cutting-edge research offerings covering a wide range of disease areas including oncology, cardiovascular, metabolic, neurological and infectious diseases. The well-established core capabilities in high-throughput RNAi screening and multi-parametric microscopy assays have yielded optimized protocols in a broad and ever-growing collection of cultured cell models. These are now complemented by miRNA modulation screens and the ongoing improvement of in vivo siRNA delivery technologies. As such, Cenix is a mature and fully proven industrial research provider, applying the highest of scientific best practices and offering a breadth and depth of specialist expertise second to none worldwide. For more information, please contact Cenix or visit the company's web site: www.cenix-bioscience.co