The Aurigene Discovery Technologies Ltd (Aurigene), a Bangalore-based integrated drug discovery services company, has entered into a discovery collaboration with the Merck Serono International S.A (Merck Serono), a global player in biotechnology, to identify small molecule drugs for the treatment of autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Under the agreement, Aurigene will receive research funding for the lead generation and optimisation according to a pre-defined research plan, and shall be entitled to milestone payments upon the achievement of certain pre-determined milestones. The company will also utilize its integrated infrastructure for drug discovery, starting from protein expression and purification all the way through medicinal chemistry and pre-clinical biology and collaborate with Merck Serono to generate an optimised lead ready for IND-enabling studies.

Commenting on the agreement with Merck Serono, CSN Murthy, CEO of Aurigene, said, "We will use Aurigene's rapidly expanding discovery capability, and leverage Merck Serono's experience in this therapeutic area to succeed. We are very pleased to have a partner of Merck Serono's calibre and to have the opportunity to create value for both sides."

The Aurigene will use its strength in structure based drug design as an additional tool to aid the discovery of novel leads.