N.V. Organon, the human health care business unit of Akzo Nobel, and Royal Philips Electronics announced that they will join forces in the development of new drugs and therapies for mental disorders and cancer.

With the help of biomarkers (specific molecules or cells which can be measured as an indicator of biological function) and Philips' advanced non-invasive medical imaging technology, it will for example be possible to study the effects of psychiatric drugs in the brain at the molecular level.

According to a press release from Organon, molecular imaging technologies are expected to speed up the development and approval of new drugs and therapies by measuring drug effects at the molecular level. In addition, these imaging technologies can be used to monitor the effect of the therapy and customize the treatment programme accordingly. Such customized treatment programs could increase effectiveness and comfort, and ultimately accelerate and improve patient outcomes.

"Organon has invested heavily in optimizing its R&D efforts," explained David Nicholson, executive vice president Research and Development of Organon. "We are convinced that biomarker research will accelerate the R&D process and improve the success rate of developing new molecular and biological therapies. In particular, our drug development programs for the treatment of psychiatric and immune disorders are expected to benefit from this collaborative research effort with Philips."

"Our medical imaging modalities are rapidly improving and have evolved into extremely powerful tools to image the function and behaviour of an anatomical feature, and not just its shape," said Rick Harwig, CTO of Philips. "The combined technological expertise of Philips and the life sciences know-how of Organon will definitely speed up the evolution of our imaging modalities into tools to image the body at the molecular level. In addition, they will enable new opportunities in molecular diagnostics."

As part of the agreement, scientists from Organon will work at the Philips Life Sciences Facilities to identify, validate, and above all, exploit novel biomarkers. The Life Sciences Facilities, situated at the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven, is a multi-disciplinary research facility, which provides the necessary biological, chemical and technical infrastructure and expertise for research and development in the field of translational biomarkers and molecular medicine.

Organon creates, manufactures and markets innovative prescription medicines that improve the health and quality of human life. Through a combination of innovation and business partnerships, Organon seeks to leverage its position as a leading biopharmaceutical company in each of its core therapeutic fields: fertility, gynaecology and selected areas of anaesthesia.