BioWorld International Correspondent

PARIS - Entomed SA and Achillion Pharmaceuticals Inc. entered a research collaboration for the discovery and development of novel drugs to treat a number of viral diseases.

Achillion, of New Haven, Conn., is developing small-molecule drugs that combat drug resistance in infectious diseases, while Strasbourg-based Entomed focuses on discovery and development of therapeutic compounds derived from the biology and chemical diversity of insects, focusing its research on infectious diseases and cancer, among other things.

The agreement calls for Achillion to screen Entomed's Entomotheque library of insect-derived molecules and analogues using its expertise in the area of medicinal chemistry and proprietary cell-based and molecular assays. The companies will share the costs of research as well as the intellectual property rights arising from it, jointly developing any drug candidates that emerge from the screening process.

Commenting on the deal, the CEO of Achillion, William Rice, said, "Entomed's library offers great potential to identify new drug candidates to treat viral diseases . . . and we expect to add new drug candidates to our growing pipeline of drugs that combat drug resistance."

For Entomed, this is its second collaboration based on the exploitation of the Entomotheque library. In mid-March it signed a two-way screening agreement with Naeja Pharmaceutical Inc., of Edmonton, Alberta, for identifying new drug targets in cancer and infectious diseases, under which Naeja is to screen the Entomotheque library for ß-lactamase inhibitors (the enzymes responsible for bacterial resistance to common antibiotics) while Entomed will screen Naeja's proprietary compounds library for anti-proliferative activities.

Entomed CEO Jean Combalbert said at the time that he expected to sign a number of similar agreements in the coming months for the exploitation of the Entomotheque library in other therapeutic fields, pointing out that such deals not only generated added value for the company, but also opened up new possibilities for discovering new drug candidates.