CRO Domainex, Auspherix Partner On Anti-Infectives
By Cyndi Root
Domainex, a contract research organization (CRO), and Auspherix have partnered to develop new drugs for antibiotic resistant bacterial infections. The collaboration, announced in a press release, will advance Auspherix’s anti-infective drug discovery platform. Auspherix’s assets are licensed from the ithree institute at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS). Professor Ian Charles of Auspherix, said, “We selected Domainex as our medicinal chemistry partner for this project, as its scientists are highly-experienced in the development of novel anti-infectives, and we are looking forward to nominating a clinical candidate for progression into patients in due course.”
Domainex and Auspherix Agreement
Domainex is based in the U.K. and provides drug discovery services. The agreement between Domainex and Auspherix, an Australian company, calls for Domainex to build on Auspherix’s initial work on small-molecule drugs. If novel antibiotic drug candidates are identified, the two companies will advance discoveries to clinical trials. Eddy Littler, CEO of Domainex, indicated that the two had collaborated successfully prior to the current agreement. He said, “It has already proven to be a strong and fully integrated collaboration, and we are confident that our joint success will make a significant contribution to the treatment of antibacterial diseases.”
About Auspherix
Auspherix is a 2013 spin-off of the ithree institute and its assets are in-licensed from ithree. In December 2013, the Medical Research Innovation Fund (MRCF) provided AU $1 million in venture funding to Auspherix.
Auspherix works on the discoveries of Professor Ian Charles and Senior Research Fellow Dr. Dagmar Alber. Their work uses a systems biology approach to address the key challenges in infectious diseases.
Computational Chemistry
Domainex will deploy its expertise in computational chemistry to assist Auspherix. Computational chemistry uses computer simulation to solve to chemical problems. Scientists at the University of Bristol in Britain have recently published results from their study in computational chemistry on the way in which bacteria destroy antibiotics. Professor Adrian Mulholland said in the article published in Chemical Communications, "We have shown that we can use computer simulations to identify which enzymes break down and spit out carbapenems quickly and those that do it slowly.” He said that scientists could use the method in the future to test enzymes to see how they react to different drugs, thereby providing a more efficient and faster means of identifying new antibiotics.