Hypha Discovery Signs Natural Products Drug Discovery Collaboration with Ferrer Grupo

London, UK, September 27, 2011 / B3C newswire / – Hypha Discovery Ltd (Hypha) today announced a collaboration with Ferrer Grupo to mine Hypha's MycoDiverse™ library to discover novel low molecular weight natural products to treat microbial infections.

Hypha's library will provide an important complement to Ferrer's synthetic chemistry-driven discovery programme.

The MycoDiverse™ library is a collection of 10,000 refined fractions from fermentations of higher fungi, generated using Hypha’s proprietary technology to stimulate secondary metabolite production. This powerful technology unlocks the potential of this under-exploited group of microbes to produce bioactive chemistry with very high structural novelty. The collection contains a very high percentage of relatively low molecular weight (MW <500) and undescribed compounds and is a proven source of novel lead compounds against “difficult” therapeutic targets, including protein-protein interactions.

Hypha’s CEO, Dr Liam Evans said “We recognise the challenges facing the discovery of novel antibiotics and firmly believe that pairing our technology with Ferrer’s experience and excellence in pharmaceutical R&D represents an ideal fit and we are pleased to be working in collaboration with scientists who recognise the potential of our technology and discovery resources.”

Ferrer’s R&D Director, Dr Antonio Guglietta, said “we are very excited about the collaboration with Hypha since we see a high degree of complementarity between Hypha’s’ expertise and skill in the field of natural products and ours in the discovery and development of new anti-microbial drugs. We expect this complementarity to be especially fruitful in the discovery of new niche antimicrobial cures, a therapeutic area to which Ferrer is highly committed”.

About Hypha Discovery Ltd
Hypha is based in London, and specialises in the production of novel bioactive small molecule natural products by fermenting a diverse and exotic collection of higher fungi using a proprietary technology.
The natural products characterised to date from the MycoDiverse™ library have a very high rate of structural novelty and with a molecular weights range between 200 and 400 are chemically more tractable than other sources of natural products. Screens of this library by Hypha’s pharmaceutical and academic clients have had a higher success rate than with other screening libraries, particularly against “difficult-to-hit” drug targets.
Hypha also works with pharmaceutical and agrochemical companies, by scaling up the production of mammalian and environmental metabolites for investigational purposes and as reference standards, and also provides small molecule contract fermentation and purification services.

About Ferrer Grupo
Ferrer Grupo is a worldwide pharmaceutical Company with headquarters in Barcelona, Spain, that has invested since its inception in 1940 by strengthening the R&D of innovative drugs, in addition to getting a solid industrial structure. The Company has centered his activities in the strategic areas of pharmaceuticals, food and Fine Chemicals, three key sectors contributing to the improvement of human health and people’s quality of life.
In 1977 the R & D activity of Grupo Ferrer received a boost with the creation of the Research Center located in Barcelona. The center has more than 140 researchers working primarily in the discovery and development of drugs in the therapeutic areas of central nervous system, anti-infectives and inflammation.

Contact:
Dr. Liam Evans                                 
Hypha Discovery Ltd                     
Russell Building
Brunel Science Park
Uxbridge
Middlesex, UB8 3PQ.
United Kingdom
Phone: +44 (0)1895 814585
fax: +44 (0)5603 419058
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 www.hyphadiscovery.co.uk