Biosortia Pharmaceuticals has signed a research agreement with AstraZeneca to screen Biosortia's library of unique natural products derived from aquatic microbial consortia for evaluation against AstraZeneca's therapeutic targets. The agreement includes the evaluation of partially refined mixtures as well as individual compounds.

The aquatic environment is a rich source of metabolically active organisms and aquatic microbial consortia consisting of microalgae, bacteria, and fungi and their associated secondary metabolites, are complex living ecosystems adapted for survival in a highly competitive environment. Biosortia's technologies make it possible to access unique biologically active compounds from these consortia that are virtually unexplored.

Previously, these unique compounds with high levels of potency and potentially novel mechanisms of action have not been accessible. AstraZeneca will evaluate Biosortia's unique compounds and fractions for activity against a number of therapeutic targets.

Biosortia's president and chief executive officer, Kurt Dieck stated, "We are excited to be working with such a great organisation as AstraZeneca, one of the top 10 largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. Their focus on innovation and identifying new sources to research aligns well with our early stage drug discovery strategy."

Biosortia Pharmaceuticals is is a division of Algaeventure Systems (AVS). Biosortia has a proven and unique ability to obtain unculturable aquatic microorganism consortia from the natural environment in unprecedented quantities that allows its research team to perform direct study of vast quantities of new natural products.

AstraZeneca is a global, innovation-driven biopharmaceutical business that focuses on the discovery, development and commercialization of prescription medicines, primarily for the treatment of cardiovascular, metabolic, respiratory, inflammation, autoimmune, oncology, infection and neuroscience diseases.