BioCentury
ARTICLE | Strategy

Two great tastes

Why Genentech partnered with Almac in research deal for USP inhibitors

June 22, 2015 7:00 AM UTC

After spending several years on fundamental biology research on the ubiquitin-protease system, Genentech Inc. has found a partner with the chemistry and compounds needed to move the work forward in both the lab and the clinic.

A two-year research deal with Almac Discovery Ltd. seeks to capitalize on three years of iterative chemistry work at Almac that has yielded selective inhibitors of several ubiquitin-specific proteases (USPs). The partners will jointly discover and develop inhibitors of an undisclosed USP implicated in cancer to generate both tool compounds, and therapeutic candidates...