(Alliance News) - e-Therapeutics PLC on Tuesday said it has agreed to work with an undisclosed global pharmaceutical company, on a project in a specific area of biology, associated with neurodegenerative diseases.
Neurodegeneration occurs when there is progressive loss of structure or function of neurons and can lead to a number of debilitating diseases such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and Huntington's.
The AIM-listed drug discovery platform operator said, under the 12-month deal, it will identify novel disease pathways and small molecules, both of which have the potential to modulate the biology of interest.
As part of the project, e-Therapeutics said it will also test the compounds resulting from its NDD platform in its in-house assays.
e-therapeutics will be reimbursed for certain costs it incurs during the execution of this work, it noted.
The pharma partner is currently in a review period, e-Therapeutics said, during which time the partner will decide whether to negotiate a collaboration with e-Therapeutics. In the absence of such an agreement, e-Therapeutics said it will be able to use the results from this project.
"We are thrilled to be working with one of the largest global pharma companies in an exciting area of disease biology where there is a significant unmet need," said e-Therapeutics Chief Executive Ray Barlow.
He added: "We continue to work on a number of different types of external collaborations and look forward to sharing further news during the remainder of the year."
e-Therapeutics shares were trading 3..4% higher in London on Tuesday at 2.58 pence each.