Metabolex receives milestone from Astellas

US drugmaker Metabolex says that Japanese pharmaceutical major Astellas has initiated a high-throughput screen on a previously-selected target and has chosen an additional validated target for screening and development through their R&D accord, triggering an undisclosed milestone payment to the firm.

The two companies' March 2002 research alliance, which was extended last year for an extra 12 months (Marketletter November 28, 2005), is focused on discovering and validating novel drug screening targets obtained via Metabolex' proprietary database of human genes associated with insulin resistance and obesity. So far, the accord has identified 10 candidate compounds, which have advanced into development for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance, impaired glucose tolerance and obesity.