Asterand plc, a leading provider of human tissue and human tissue-based services to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies engaged in drug discovery, announced that its subsidiary BioSeek, LLC, a pioneer in the application of predictive human biology to drug discovery, has signed a two-year collaboration agreement with Eisai Co Ltd, a research-based human health care company headquartered in Japan.

Under the agreement, BioSeek will apply its proprietary BioMAP platform to advance Eisai's multiple discovery projects in the oncology and inflammation areas. The agreement encompasses scientific projects at Eisai sites in the US and Japan. The financial terms include research funding, success milestones payments and license fees: specific terms were not disclosed.

"We are honoured that Eisai has chosen to incorporate BioSeek's unique BioMAP technology platform into its drug discovery process. This master agreement is yet another strong endorsement of our BioMAP human-based disease model. We look forward to assisting Eisai in its quest to develop new therapies for cancer and inflammatory conditions ", saysAsterand CEO, Martyn Coombs.

BioMAP Systems are primary cell-based models of human disease biology, designed to replicate the intricate cell and pathway interactions as they are observed in human pharmacology and toxicology. Depending on their mechanism of action, drug compounds induce specific patterns of changes in these systems (BioMAP profiles) that can be compared to a large number of reference profiles in the BioMAP Database. BioMAP provides early insight into human pharmacological and toxicological properties of compounds, including on- and off-target effects, dose responses, and the discrimination of closely related compounds.

Asterand is a leading global supplier of high quality human tissue and tissue-based services. BioSeek LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Asterand plc, is improving the success rate of pharmaceutical research and development by integrating human biology from the earliest stages of drug discovery onward.