Taisho signs deal with Pharmagene

Taisho Pharmaceutical Co of Japan has signed an agreement with theUK's Pharmagene giving it access to the latter's Phase ZERO testing service. Financial details were not disclosed.

Under the terms of the agreement, Pharmagene will use human hepatocytes to investigate gene expression profiling, which it says will allow improved toxicity prediction for compounds in development. The UK firm will also use human tissue to carry out pharmacological profiling on Taisho compounds prior to these entering clinical studies.

Alastair Riddell, Pharmagene's chief executive, noted that "this new deal brings our Japanese customer base to five," and claimed that it is "a clear indication of our penetration into this critical market, and shows the growth of our reputation for providing data."