Astex
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Astex Therapeutics | |
Type | Private |
---|---|
Founded | 1999 |
Headquarters | Cambridge, United Kingdom |
Key people | Timothy Haines (CEO) Harren Jhoti (CSO) Martin Buckland (CBO) |
Industry | Pharmaceutical |
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 PyramidTM. 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] 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)