British Biotech plc and MerLion Pharmaceuticals Pte Ltd., a Singapore-based drug discovery company, announced that they have signed a two-year research agreement to discover and develop new classes of anti-bacterial ribosomal inhibitors from natural sources.

The collaboration will combine British Biotech's expertise in ribosomal biology and structure-based drug design, including site specific assays, crystallography and NMR technology (acquired through its recent merger with RiboTargets Ltd) with MerLion's extensive collection of natural product samples, its high throughput screening capabilities and natural product and medicinal chemistry expertise.

Identification and characterization of lead candidates from MerLion's natural product library will be performed using British Biotech's proprietary ribosomal assays. The two companies will jointly progress selected lead compounds through initial pre-clinical development and will share in the intellectual property generated.

Simon Sturge, British Biotech's chief executive officer, commented: “Collaborating with MerLion enables us to apply our extensive understanding of the bacterial ribosome and its potential as a novel target for anti-bacterial therapy to one of the world's most diverse libraries of natural products. We look forward to a productive relationship with MerLion.”

Dr Tony Buss, MerLion Pharma's CEO, commented, “We are very pleased to be working with British Biotech and anticipate a successful collaboration that will contribute to better understanding of bacterial infection and improved treatment in this important therapeutic area.”