Cyclenium Pharma Inc., an emerging pharmaceutical company specialising in the discovery and development of novel drug candidates based on proprietary macrocyclic chemistry, and McGill University, one of the world’s leading post-secondary institutions, have entered into multiple research agreements designed to discover novel modulators for promising biological targets of pharmacological interest.

Involving investigators from the Rosalind and Morris Goodman Cancer Research Centre (GCRC), the departments of biochemistry and physiology, and the McGill High Throughput Screening (HTS) facility, these collaborations will provide McGill researchers with immediate access to Cyclenium’s proprietary Quest Library of next generation macrocyclic molecules and associated optimization capabilities.

The initial objective of these exploratory efforts is to identify macrocyclic compounds capable of interacting with specific therapeutic targets, including several involving protein-protein interactions, being studied in the various McGill laboratories, thereby providing tools to improve the understanding of their involvement in various disease states, with the longer term goal of discovering novel pharmacological or diagnostic agents acting at these targets.

“We have been greatly impressed with the nature and quality of the research being pursued within McGill’s laboratories and feel strongly that our macrocyclic compounds will be of significant assistance in advancing their studies,” stated Helmut Thomas, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Cyclenium.

“Coupling the cutting-edge efforts and the world class expertise of their investigators with our CMRT technology and proven development success in the macrocycle arena offers an excellent opportunity for synergy in the discovery and development of novel therapeutic and diagnostic agents against important, but difficult, pharmacological targets.”

“We are excited about our collaboration with Cyclenium as it will continue to create new opportunities to accelerate the translation of basic research and our mechanistic understanding of cancer biology into potential therapies for cancer patients,” said Dr. Morag Park, director of the Rosalind and Goodman Cancer Research Centre, McGill University.

"The partnership with Cyclenium will provide our researchers access to new chemical probes with which we can query the mechanics of life at the molecular level,” said Dr. Albert Berghuis, chair of the Biochemistry Department, McGill University. “There is no doubt that the basic insights gained will lead to new avenues for therapy development for a host of diseases. This is therefore a win-win-win scenario for McGill, Cyclenium, and ultimately patients."

“This collaborative venture is a prime example of harnessing the biomedical expertise of publicly funded university researchers with the technical prowess and resources of the biopharmaceutical industry to enhance drug discovery and disease treatment,” said Dr. John Orlowski, chair of the Department of Physiology, McGill University. “Such relationships will ultimately benefit not only the healthcare of Canadians but also individuals world-wide.”

The Rosalind and Morris Goodman Cancer Research Centre (GCRC) is an internationally renowned research centre, committed to coordinating and conducting independent basic and early translational cancer research and training within a technologically advanced centre. Affiliated with McGill University’s faculty of medicine and affiliated hospitals, the GCRC brings together the very best scientists, technicians, graduate students and research fellows.

The McGill HTS (high throughput screening) facility was established in 2002 by Drs. J. Pelletier and D. Thomas at the Biochemistry Department. The scientific aim of the McGill HTS facility is to facilitate the development of chemical biology programmes in academic labs by supporting HTS assay development and high throughput screens of various natures. The facility employs a staff-assisted screening model. Investigators using the facility are provided with access to chemical or siRNA/shRNA libraries and training in the use of some instruments, such as liquid handling robotic equipment, plate readers and high content screening systems.