Argenta and Zafgen in obesity drug discovery accord

The UK's Argenta Discovery, the contract research and respiratory R&D company, and Zafgen, a private, venture-backed US biopharmaceutical  company focused on developing novel obesity therapeutics, have entered  into a major drug discovery collaboration. Under the terms of the  agreement, financial terms of which were not disclosed, scientists from  the two companies will exploit Argenta's expertise in computer-aided  drug design, medicinal chemistry, assay development, in vitro screening,  drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics to accelerate development candidate  nomination for one of Zafgen's innovative therapeutics programs for  obesity.

Thomas Hughes, chief executive of Zafgen said: "working closely with the  Argenta team, we are confident that we will rapidly identify and advance  drug candidates for Zafgen. Obesity is a global epidemic, affecting an  estimated 400 million people worldwide, which also leads to an  increasing prevalence of obesity-related co-morbidities, including type  2 diabetes. Zafgen's unique approach of discovering and developing  anti-obesity agents that target adipose vasculature to shrink fat cells  to help the body sustain a lean, healthy state offers the possibility of  a real breakthrough in this area, where there is considerable unmet  medical need."