PlaqueTec, a company focused on identifying endotype-specific biomarkers for precision medicine in coronary artery disease (CAD), and RxCelerate, a drug discovery and development service provider, have announced the successful completion of a collaborative project. The collaboration focused on assessing small molecules identified from a cheminformatics drug screen against a novel target in CAD discovered by PlaqueTec.
The project leveraged a bespoke cell-based assay developed by RxCelerate to evaluate the small molecules. This assay was designed to test the binding affinity of the molecules to PlaqueTec's candidate target. The collaboration successfully characterized lead compounds, demonstrating the value of the assay in advancing PlaqueTec's mission to endotype CAD and develop personalized interventions.
Characterizing Lead Compounds
The collaborative project aimed to assess small molecules in a functional cell-based assay offered through RxCelerate’s bespoke services. The project has enabled the lead compounds to be characterised successfully, demonstrating the value of the assay in the progress of PlaqueTec’s mission to endotype CAD and develop personalised interventions to transform patient care.
Future Collaboration
If the target is validated in PlaqueTec's ongoing BIOPATTERN trial, the collaborators plan to advance other lead compounds for further investigation. This includes further drug screening for other new targets identified and validated in BIOPATTERN. The collaboration builds upon an initial pilot project with Medicines Discovery Catapult, which used computational approaches to identify candidate small molecules active against PlaqueTec's novel target.
Expert Commentary
"Our successful collaboration with RxCelerate has enabled the characterisation of a number of small molecules against a novel candidate target in CAD," said Dr. Diane Proudfoot, Chief Scientific Officer, PlaqueTec. "Once further targets are identified and validated through our BIOPATTERN trial, we hope to continue collaborating with RxCelerate to identify additional small molecule candidates whilst validating and providing new critical insights into the pathobiology of CAD."
"At RxCelerate, we are proud to provide bespoke solutions to our clients to support any or all phases of their drug discovery and development campaigns," added Dr. Jill Reckless, Chief Executive Officer, RxCelerate. "Through this successful project, we have continued to demonstrate our focus on generating high-quality data and delivering complex projects on schedule through collaborative and open communication with clients. We really enjoyed working with PlaqueTec on this innovative project and hope to continue supporting its research into CAD as its BIOPATTERN trial progresses."
