Shire will evaluate Cerep's BioPrint database and related pharmaco-informatics tools. Under the agreement Cerep will also generate new BioPrint data on Shire compounds for Shire’s exclusive use. Additionally, the two companies will also collaborate on the development of BioPrint and related tools aimed at predicting adverse drug reactions as early as possible in preclinical research.
BioPrint is a homogenous pharmacology and ADME database composed of three main data sets: chemical descriptors (structures and chemical information as well as 2-D and 3-D descriptors), in vitro profiles, and in vivo effects of drugs or reference compounds. It places a new drug candidate in the context of marketed drugs, anticipating potential in vivo liabilities, predicting off-target activities, and ADME characteristics.
In October 2009, Cerep granted a similar BioPrint evaluation license to Roche spanning two years. The companies agreed to extend their contract for an additional year in October 2010. Thierry Jean, president and CEO of Cerep, says that the database is a result of 12 years of investment and work.