LibraGen signs partnership agreement with Pierre Fabre Medicament R&D

LibraGen will use its industrial biocatalysis know-how to carry out research into optimizing the synthesis of a pharmaceutical molecule.

LibraGen, a bacterial diversity-based process and discovery specialist, announces today that it has signed a partnership agreement with the R&D department of Pierre Fabre Medicament, France's second largest independent pharmaceutical company. Under the terms of the agreement, LibraGen will use enzymatic technologies to optimize the synthesis of a molecule which is the main active ingredient of one of Pierre Fabre's medicines. This enzymatic production process bypasses the need for several stages of chemical synthesis, thus optimizing production costs and significantly improving environmental impact.

"Biocatalysis is a tool which is revolutionizing chemical production processes in the pharmaceutical field," said Renaud Nalin, LibraGen's CEO. "This agreement demonstrates the level of maturity and expertise now attained by LibraGen in the field of biocatalysis, and also reflects our strategic commitment to the forging of partnerships with the pharma industry. This research is a first step towards a long term objective of developing a biocatalytic synthesis production process for the molecule in question based on the results we get. It also fits into our development strategy which is focused on biocatalysis and on the pharma industry."

Pierre Fabre Medicament has a firm commitment to partner in the later stages of development and has a strong focus on early R&D of new molecules whether from natural, chemical or biological origin. The company has two strands to its strategy: strengthening its research through a network of collaborations with academic institutions or young biotech companies, and seeking out industrial partners for the later stage development of products that have come out of its labs and for their worldwide marketing.

LibraGen has the scientific know-how and technology that enable it to develop and optimize enzymatic synthesis processes for complex molecules. This work is a prerequisite for the development of large scale production processes for active molecules. This type of collaboration also means that LibraGen and its partners can set up with suitable new production processes and intellectual property protection using "Green Chemistry" thus strengthening the innovative and IP position of pharmaceutical companies on the drug market.