AstronauTx announces an alliance with Concept Life Sciences to accelerate the identification of new therapies for Alzheimer's

AstronauTx, the therapeutic biotechnology company, announces a partnership with Concept Life Sciences, a contract research firm, to help identify new therapies for Alzheimer's disease. The alliance will focus on identifying small molecules that are able to modulate astrocyte biology to expand AstronauTx's pipeline with new therapeutic candidates for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

Concept Life Sciences (CLS), headquartered in Alderley Park Cheshire, United Kingdom, offers tailor-made solutions from discovery to clinical development. CLS brings innovative and advanced solutions to the market through exceptional science and the highest level of customer service. As part of the alliance , CLS will bring not only its expertise in neurodegeneration but also its integrated drug discovery platform to AstronauTx to identify a novel therapy candidate for Alzheimer's disease.

AstronauTx was founded in March 2019 with an investment of £ 6.5m by the Dementia Discovery Fund (DDF) and subsequently won another £ 1m from the UCL Technology Fund. The partnership with Concept Life Sciences is the second collaboration in the UK that AstronauTx has started. The founding partnership with Alzheimer's Research UK's Drug Discovery Institute at University College London began last year and focuses on another aspect of astrocyte biology. Both partnerships build on the strong expertise of renowned British scientists in the field of industrial and academic drug discovery.

Dr. David Reynolds , Chief Executive Officer of AstronauTx , commented: “I am pleased to announce this alliance with Concept Life Sciences as it will allow AstronauTx to expand its research portfolio to target the most important support cells in the brain: astrocytes. Astrocytes usually make the brain's nerve cells work properly, but in diseases like Alzheimer's, they change and become harmful instead. Our partnership with Concept Life Sciences adds another approach to reverse astrocyte behavior in disease, which I hope will be very effective as we conduct clinical trials in the future. "

Dr. Mark Carnegie-Brown , President of Concept Life Sciences, commented: “I am pleased to announce the partnership with AstronauTx, through which we support the development of a pipeline for new therapies for astrocytes with our expertise in medicinal chemistry and CNS biology can. We look forward to working together as a team to accelerate the path of AstronauTx. "