UCB, 4SC and Crelux to research neurological conditions

UCB has announced a new collaboration with 4SC Discovery and Crelux to identify and validate novel small molecule compounds for the treatment of neurological disorders.

The alliance will leverage the capabilities of Crelux and 4SC's joint idea-to-candidate platform, which will be used to discover and optimise promising compounds in order to supply UCB with high-quality drug candidates.

A virtual screening approach based on 4SC's proprietary 4Scan method will be used to identify various inhibitors to the therapeutic target enzyme, with Crelux to verify compounds identified as binders in vitro using its Intract assay capabilities.

It is UCB's aim to use this partnership to find novel medicines for treatment of diseases of the central nervous system, before taking them into further preclinical and clinical development.

Ismail Kola, executive vice-president and president for new medicines at UCB, said: "We firmly believe science progresses more rapidly when innovation is fostered by strong partnerships."

This comes after UCB announced a new personalised epilepsy care partnership with IBM last month.