Partnership aims to develop compounds against asthma-triggering enzyme Der p1.

Domainex will receive more than £1.5 million ($2.5 million) in fees over two years to perform lead optimization in an asthma program being undertaken by St George’s University of London. The focus is on developing a new treatment based on the inhibition of Der p1, an enzyme involved in triggering asthma attacks.

The research will be spearheaded by St George’s University of London and the University of Manchester, which have received a £4 million ($6.6 million) grant from the Wellcome Trust’s Seeding Drug Discovery Initiative.

Collaborating scientists at St George’s, the University of Manchester, and Domainex have already discovered drug-like compounds that inhibit Der p1. Domainex will now use its virtual screening technology, LeadBuilder, to select suitable leads, and provide St George’s with medicinal chemistry support to develop a clinical candidate.

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