Corporate | 2 April 2012 07:30
|
4SC AG / Key word(s): Alliance/Miscellaneous
Press Release Henkel and 4SC Discovery start research collaboration in compound screening Planegg-Martinsried, 2 April 2012 – The biotechnology company 4SC AG (Frankfurt, Prime Standard: VSC) today announced that its subsidiary 4SC Discovery GmbH, which specialises in the research and discovery of novel compounds, has entered into a research collaboration with Henkel KGaA, Düsseldorf, in the area of compound screening. The aim of the joint research project is to identify new and more effective laundry detergent ingredients. For its part, 4SC Discovery will perform property calculations on several million substances. Henkel will then use application testing to determine the substances most suitable for new detergent formulations. Within the partnership, 4SC Discovery will utilise the high-performance computerised screening method that it has successfully deployed for several years to identify potent new therapeutic compounds for the pharmaceuticals sector. The bundling of Henkel's expertise in formulating sustainable laundry detergents and cleaning agents with 4SC's skills in researching and optimising new compounds is intended to make solutions available that would remain inaccessible to simple, experience-based development strategies. In addition, the partnership should accelerate the process for early-stage compound discovery and optimisation and achieve greater cost efficiency than conventional approaches. Dr. Daniel Vitt, Managing Director of 4SC Discovery GmbH and Chief Scientific Officer at 4SC AG, comments: 'We have successfully deployed our computerised screening process for drug discovery and compound research optimisation in the pharmaceutical area for many years. Now this partnership with Henkel demonstrates large new opportunities, as it is the first time our procedure will be used to drive the rapid and efficient development of new detergent compounds. We intend to use the income generated from this and future similar research collaborations with pharmaceutical, biotech and chemical partners to further strengthen the business of both 4SC Discovery and the 4SC Group as a whole.' Dr. Ulrich Dauer, Chief Executive Officer of 4SC AG, adds: 'We are proud that, only three months after launching its operations, our research subsidiary 4SC Discovery has entered into a research collaboration with such a renowned partner. The main focus of 4SC AG – the Group parent company – continues to be the clinical development of its drug candidates, however the initial success of 4SC Discovery is exciting for the whole organization.' 'Accelerating the development of sustainable innovations that appeal to consumers and ensuring superior quality for our products throughout the world are key factors for Henkel's success,' comments Professor Thomas Müller-Kirschbaum, Head of Global Research and Development in Henkel's Laundry and Home Care business sector. 'Compound screening with our partner 4SC Discovery also lets us subject a much higher volume of substances to testing during the early stages of product development than has previously been possible.'
Ends
About Henkel Henkel operates worldwide with leading brands and technologies in three business areas: Laundry & Home Care, Cosmetics/Toiletries and Adhesive Technologies. Founded in 1876, Henkel holds globally leading market positions both in the consumer and industrial businesses with well-known brands such as Persil, Schwarzkopf and Loctite. Henkel employs more than 47,000 people and reported sales of 15,605 million euros and adjusted operating profit of 2,029 million euros in fiscal 2011. Henkel's preferred shares are listed in the German stock index DAX and the company ranks among the Fortune Global 500.
About 4SC Discovery GmbH 4SC Discovery GmbH is a wholly-owned subsidiary of 4SC AG that offers technologies and tailored research services covering drug discovery and chemical optimisation through to a preclinical development candidate. The company focuses its services on offering customers in the pharmaceutical, biotech and chemical industries the cost and time-to-market benefits that result from a drug discovery and optimisation process based on a powerful, computer-aided, screening and discovery platform. In addition, 4SC Discovery also applies its comprehensive pharmacological expertise to investigating new compounds in the areas of cancer and autoimmune disease – a measure also intended to further enhance the clinical development pipeline for the 4SC Group. The company aims to engage in partnerships with pharmaceutical and biotech companies to accelerate the development of these research programmes and further advance their commercialisation.
About 4SC Group The Group managed by 4SC AG (ISIN DE0005753818, Frankfurt Prime Standard: VSC) discovers and develops targeted small-molecule drugs for the treatment of diseases with a high unmet medical need in various autoimmune and cancer indications. These drugs are intended to provide patients with innovative treatment options that are more tolerable and efficacious than existing therapies, and provide a better quality of life. At the end of 2011, 4SC Group had 96 employees. The company was founded in 1997.
Legal Note This document may contain projections or estimates relating to plans and objectives relating to our future operations, products, or services; future financial results; or assumptions underlying or relating to any such statements; each of which constitutes a forward-looking statement subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control. Actual results could differ materially, depending on a number of factors.
For more information please visit www.4sc.com and www.4sc-discovery.com or contact:
4SC AG
Bettina v. Klitzing-Stückle, Corporate Communications
MC Services
Mareike Mohr
The Trout Group (USA)
End of Corporate News 02.04.2012 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP – a company of EquityStory AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. DGAP’s Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases. Media archive at www.dgap-medientreff.de and www.dgap.de |
| Language: | English | |
| Company: | 4SC AG | |
| Am Klopferspitz 19a | ||
| 82152 Martinsried | ||
| Germany | ||
| Phone: | +49 (0)89 7007 63-0 | |
| Fax: | +49 (0)89 7007 63-29 | |
| E-mail: | public@4sc.com | |
| Internet: | www.4sc.de | |
| ISIN: | DE0005753818 | |
| WKN: | 575381 | |
| Listed: | Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr in Berlin, Düsseldorf, München, Stuttgart | |
| End of News | DGAP News-Service |
|
|
| 163363 02.04.2012 |