On May 5, 2015 ArQule and Beryllium Discovery reported a collaborative research and development agreement to identify and unlock the therapeutic potential of small molecule compounds by combining ArQule’s chemistry and drug development expertise with Beryllium’s discovery platforms (Press release, ArQule, MAY 5, 2015, View Source [SID:1234503580]). The Beryllium platforms integrate structure-guided drug discovery, biophysics and cell biology.

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The therapeutic targets to be pursued by the parties include PD-1 (programmed cell death protein 1) and PDL-1 (programmed death ligand 1), two proteins believed to play major roles in suppressing or limiting the response of the immune system. Molecules that bind to and inhibit the effects of these targets may help direct the immune system to combat a variety of tumors.

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"We are excited by the potential synergy in combining complementary technologies and expertise to pursue cost-effective, shared-risk development pathways for the selection of compounds identified from ArQule’s small molecule library or rationally designed through Beryllium’s fragment-based research capabilities and ArQule chemistry technology," said Brian Schwartz, chief medical officer of ArQule. "We are prioritizing the scope of our collaboration based on the recognition that immuno-oncology represents a promising area of research with potential applications across a number of cancers."

"We welcome the opportunity to combine our functional and structural biology platforms with ArQule’s chemistry and drug development capabilities," said Dalia Cohen, Ph.D., chief scientific officer of Beryllium. "We believe that there are significant synergies between the two companies, and we are excited to work together. ArQule’s chemistry know-how and clinical development expertise are a perfect complement to Beryllium’s strengths in target-centric drug discovery."