Emerald BioStructures Achieves Second UCB Milestone

Emerald BioStructures has successfully achieved the second milestone in its collaboration with UCB on the structure-based discovery of small molecule modulators of undisclosed targets. Together, the two companies have solved high-resolution X-ray crystallographic structures of multiple targets, and identified unique lead series of small molecules.

“Emerald and UCB initiated their collaboration partnership in January of 2009, and over the last 24 months, have made significant progress,” said Neil Weir, senior vice president of research at UCB. “We are very impressed with Emerald’s ability to consistently deliver structural insights in a fast-paced and exciting project that requires continuous innovation.”

“In this collaborative effort, we’ve identified multiple modulators of protein structure and function,” said Alex Burgin, chief operating officer of Emerald BioStructures. “We look forward to supporting UCB in their structure-guided design and selection of clinical candidates over the next 24 months.”

Additionally, Emerald and UCB have expanded their collaboration in structure-based drug discovery. “The expansion of our UCB collaboration is an important demonstration of the confidence that UCB has in the Emerald team, and is a clear validation of our fragment-based X-ray structure technology, especially when applied to challenging targets,” said Lance Stewart, chief executive officer of Emerald BioStructures.Financial terms of the pact were not disclosed.