Charles River announces new and continued drug discovery collaborations

WILMINGTON, Mass.—Charles River Laboratories International Inc. announced this fall new and continuing collaborations with three drug discovery partners funded by the Wellcome Trust. Antabio, an antibacterial drug discovery company, Pcovery, a spin-out company focused on anti-fungals, and the British Columbia Cancer Agency have all extended existing or commenced new agreements with Charles River’s Global Discovery Services business.

“We are delighted Antabio, Pcovery and the British Columbia Cancer Agency selected Charles River as their partner for the Wellcome Trust’s Seeding Drug Discovery-funded programs,” said Emily Hickey, corporate senior vice president of Global Discovery Services for Charles River. “We look forward to supporting these organizations in their goal to identify new therapies to treat—and hopefully cure—diseases.”

As part of the agreements, Charles River’s Discovery Business will provide a comprehensive suite of in-vitro and in-vivo drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics (DMPK), pharmacology and medicinal chemistry services, which are outlined below:

• For the British Columbia Cancer Agency, Charles River will begin a new project providing chemistry/computer-aided drug design (CADD), biochemical and cell assays and in-vitro and in-vivo DMPK studies to improve radiotherapy treatments for cancer.
• For Antabio, Charles River will begin a new project developing a novel drug for infections in cystic fibrosis patients with project management, CADD and medicinal and synthetic chemistry input. Charles River will also continue providing Antabio with medicinal and synthetic chemistry, CADD and in-vitro and in-vivo DMPK services to develop drug candidates that inhibit antibiotic resistance.
• For Pcovery, Charles River will continue providing CADD and medicinal and synthetic chemistry support to develop antifungal treatments with the potential to destroy otherwise drug-resistant fungi.

For each project, the Charles River Discovery team worked closely with its respective partners, providing scientific support and insight into the development of the grant applications and the generation and delivery of scientific presentations to the Wellcome Trust Scientific Advisory Board prior to project initiation.

The Wellcome Trust is a global charitable foundation dedicated to achieving extraordinary improvements in human and animal health. It supports the brightest minds in biomedical research and the medical humanities. The Trust’s breadth of support includes public engagement, education and the application of research to improve health. It is independent of both political and commercial interests.  

Charles River provides essential products and services to help pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, government agencies and leading academic institutions around the globe accelerate their research and drug development efforts.