leadXpro celebrates its first anniversary
Villigen, CH, December 2016 – Just one year ago, leadXpro AG was founded as a spin-off from the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI, with the vision of establishing itself as a world leader in structure-based drug discovery for membrane protein drug targets, to ultimately deliver differentiated, best in class medicines to patients. Today, leadXpro is well on the way to delivering on its mission. Here are some highlights from the past 12 months:
- December 2016 – First lasing of Swiss free-electron X-ray laser (SwissFEL) achieved, a major milestone for the future of structure-based drug discovery, aimed atmembrane protein targets, previously deemed intractable
- Q4 2016 – First batch of GPCR structures determined by conventional and serial crystallography technology, greatly aided by close access to the Swiss Light Source, kick-starting its newly established partnerships
- September 2016 Collaborations with two yet undisclosed large pharma companies initiated (further details to be announced early 2017), focused on advancing structure-based drug discovery efforts on a variety of membrane protein targets.
- August 2016 – leadXpro and Paul Scherrer Institute enter a collaboration for further development of Serial Crystallography at the Synchrotron (SLS) as well as at the SwissFEL Free Electron Laser facility
- June 2016 – Heptares and leadXpro enter collaboration on powerful new approaches to GPCR structure determination for drug discovery
- May 2016 – Establishing the core scientific team consisting of Dr Robert Cheng, Dr Mathieu Botte and Dr Sandra Markovic-Müller, internationally recognized scientists with a track record of successfully tackling difficult membrane protein structures in industry and academia
In 2017, leadXpro will focus on progression of its internal portfolio, having successfully established gene-to-lead projects in oncology and infectious diseases.
Further growth will be facilitated by its partnership model, working with partners to deliver best in class small molecule leads to challenging membrane protein targets. In addition, leadXpro’s access to the Swiss-FEL (coming online in 2017), through its close relationship to the Paul Scherrer Institute, will be crucial in completing its technology platform, allowing previously intractable membrane protein targets to be addressed with a structure-based drug discovery approach.
leadXpro looks forward to working with partners wishing to unlock their own challenging membrane protein targets and partnering projects within leadXpro’s innovative new portfolio.
About leadXpro AG
leadXpro is a lead discovery company focusing on membrane protein drug targets. We are committed to the application of biophysical and structure-based methods for the discovery and optimization of next generation lead compounds. leadXpro’s technology platform enables structural determination of membrane proteins where classical crystallographic techniques fail, unlocking structure-based drug discovery for challenging targets. We capitalize on the knowledge regarding membrane protein structural biology and facilities of the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) with premium access to the synchrotron Swiss Light Source (SLS) and the Free Electron Laser (SwissFEL). Core expertise beyond X-ray include single particle cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) and electron diffraction (ED). For more information, please visit www.leadxpro.com
leadXpro is a registered trademark in the EU, Switzerland, US and Canada.
Contact Information
leadXpro AG
Michael Hennig, CEO
michael.hennig at leadXpro.com