Dive Brief:
- AstraZeneca has executed an agreement with the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology (MPI) in which scientists from each team will work side by side.
- The focus will be on cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, which is one of the three main areas of focus for AstraZeneca.
- Targeted research will focus on various aspects of new modality chemistry, including stabilized peptides, macrocycles and conjugation chemistry.
Dive Insight:
This alliance represents a collaborative agreement between a pharmaceutical company and a biomedical institute. AstraZeneca has a similar collaborative agreement with Karolinska Institute in Sweden. Working with the Max Planck Institute, AstraZeneca’s researchers will focus on identifying new targets in the areas of cardiac regeneration, islet health (diabetes) and diabetic nephropathy.
Marcus Schindler, vice president and head of CVMD iMed, AstraZeneca, said: "I'm very pleased to collaborate with an internationally recognised academic institution such as the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology. Based on our excellent ongoing collaboration with Professor Waldmann's group and the interdisciplinary Chemical Genomics Centre, we are confident that this innovative new partnership will result in exciting scientific findings, addressing chemical challenges primarily in the field of new modalities."