Proteros, Bayer to develop new cardiovascular drug compounds

Under the deal, discovery efforts on an undisclosed regulatory membrane protein will be driven by Proteros over a two-year period to meet predefined milestones, while Bayer will be responsible for further preclinical candidate optimization and clinical development.

Proteros will also receive R&D funding, downstream milestones and royalties upon sales of potential resulting commercial products.

The project is based on Proteros’ structure-guided lead discovery platform which combines structure analysis, medicinal chemistry and other discovery technologies to drive potency, selectivity, and safety of new lead compounds.

Commenting on the discovery collaboration, Proteros COO Dr Peter Reinemer said: "Regulatory membrane proteins are among the most challenging class of targets for structure guided drug discovery approaches."

Proteros collaborates with more than 80 pharmaceutical and biotechnology clients in North America, Europe and Asia, and focuses on protein-structure accelerated lead discovery.