Servier and MIPS to conduct GPCR research

Servier is to collaborate with the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (MIPS) on research into new drugs focusing on G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs).

The drug discovery and research collaboration will utilise MIPS' world-leading capability in the identification of novel GPCR targets to create treatments in the fields of metabolism, cardiology, neurology and psychiatry, rheumatology and oncology.

MIPS, one of the most prominent pharmaceutical sciences research institutes in Australia, will receive annual funding injections and milestone payments over the course of the three-year alliance, while Servier will receive exclusive rights to any products developed.

Dr Emmanuel Canet, president of research and development at Servier, said: "This alliance with MIPS, an acknowledged leader in the field of GPCR biology, will significantly enhance our capacity to identify and address original targets that may lead to therapies for untreated needs."

This comes after Servier announced a new alliance with Vernalis earlier this year, which will focus on the discovery of new treatments for an unspecified cancer type.