Telik Inc announced a collaboration with Roche to utilize Telik's proprietary small molecule drug discovery technology, TRAP, to identify drug candidates active against a pharmaceutical target selected by Roche. Financial terms were not disclosed.

"We have successfully used TRAP in collaborations with selected pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and leading cancer research institutions, as well as to fill our product development pipeline which includes TLK286 and TLK199," said Michael M. Wick, chairman and chief executive officer. "We are pleased to work with Roche in their drug discovery efforts."

"We chose Telik as a collaborative partner based on the unique aspects of TRAP technology to identify novel small molecule leads that form a strong basis for elaboration into drug-like molecules active against biologic targets," said Ian Massey, head of research and development in Roche Palo Alto.

TRAP is based on the fundamental principle that pharmaceutically active molecules work by interacting with a protein target. Telik measures the binding of a small molecule to a proprietary reference panel of proteins to create a profile for each compound. Telik scientists have created a database of profiles for tens of thousands of compounds, and use sophisticated computational tools to search the database and identify drug candidates more rapidly than with alternative technologies.