Commercial Partners

Asterand plc has provided human tissue based solutions to Top 30 pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies worldwide to accelerate drug discovery research and improve the advance of their compounds into the clinic. Over the years, Asterand has also partnered with other biotech and pharma companies, government organizations and academic institutions. Examples of such partnerships are as below:

Allergan, Inc.
In August 2008, Asterand entered into an exclusive license agreement with Allergan, Inc., a global, multi-specialty healthcare company, whereby Allergan obtained the rights to a series of compounds discovered and developed by Asterand. The compounds are selective, small molecule prostaglandin receptor agonists that have been shown in preclinical studies to be effective in reducing intraocular pressure. Allergan has the expertise, reputation and resources to further develop and commercialize these compounds to provide effective treatment for conditions and diseases of the eye, such as glaucoma. This license agreement represents a further example of Asterand realizing value from its legacy therapeutics IP portfolio.

Bristol - Myers Squibb (BMS)
In January 2010, Asterand began a further three year agreement with Bristol-Myers Squibb Company for access to Asterand's products and services. Under this extended collaboration, Asterand will continue to undertake a range of PhaseZERO^® studies for Bristol-Myers Squibb in the areas of compound profiling and target validation. PhaseZERO^® studies include gene and protein expression profiling and cell-based pharmacology assays. Likewise, Bristol-Myers Squibb will be granted access to Asterand's XpressBANK^TM of human tissue, bio-fluid, and cell lines and may also utilize Asterand's ProCURE^TM custom clinical sample collection service.

Asterand's goal is to assist Bristol-Myers Squibb and other pharmaceutical companies in making the drug development process more effective and help them reach clinic with less cost and more confidence.

Agilent
In May 2007, Asterand partnered with Agilent Technologies Inc. to provide hundreds of RNA integrity profiles corresponding to 32 human tissue types from its extensive human tissue bank. These profiles formed the initial repository of information for Agilent's industry standard RNA Integrity Database. The database provides "Good/Degraded" profiles for each RNA sample combination and also provides a forum for discussing RNA profiles.

Information within the RNA Integrity Database allows scientists to pre-screen methods for experimental design and validate results across their own experiments and those of other labs. Agilent's Bioanalyzer has become the industry standard for RNA sample quality control and allows researchers to save money, time and gain extra confidence in their results.

BTG
In January 2006, Asterand entered into an exclusive agreement with BTG plc, a medical innovations company whereby BTG acquired the rights to a series of compounds discovered and developed by Asterand to treat painful conditions such as migraine headache. These compounds provide an opportunity to Asterand to realize the value of its therapeutic portfolio. Having completed preclinical development, Phase Ia and Phase Ib studies and generated additional data in other non-clinical models to support a broader therapeutic application, BTG are now seeking licensing partners with expertise in pain and inflammation for the further development of this program.