Astex
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| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Pharmaceutical |
| Founded | 1999 |
| Headquarters | Cambridge, United Kingdom |
| Key people | Harren Jhoti (CEO) Martin Buckland (CBO) |
| Products | oncology treatments |
| Revenue | not available |
| Website | http://www.astex-therapeutics.com/home.php |
Astex Therapeutics is a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of drugs in oncology and other areas. Astex was founded in 1999 by Sir Tom Blundell, Chris Abell & Harren Jhoti, and is located in Cambridge, UK.
The company's research efforts focus on utilization of a proprietary "drug discovery engine" dubbed Pyramid. Astex has also solved the structure of two key cytochrome P450 isoenzymes involved in drug metabolism, 2C9 & 3A4, which the company hopes will help in optimizing the pharmacokinetic properties and safety of their lead compounds.
Astex's first drug candidate, a cell cycle inhibitor, entered Phase I clinical trials in 2005, and two other candidates are in pre-clinical development.
[edit] See also
[edit] Further reading
- Carr RA, Congreve M, Murray CW, Rees DC (2005) Fragment-based lead discovery: leads by design. Drug Discov Today 10: 987-92.
- Congreve M, Murray CW, Blundell TL (2005) Structural biology and drug discovery. Drug Discov Today 10: 895-907.
- Williams PA, Cosme J, Vinkovic DM, et al. (2004) Crystal structures of human cytochrome P450 3A4 bound to metyrapone and progesterone Science 305: 683-86 (available online by registration at Science website)
- Astex Technology: Pioneering Fragment-based Lead Discovery
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