Pharmaron, an R&D service provider for the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, is partnering with AstraZeneca to support its global innovative medicines units.

Pharmaron will provide AZ with discovery services in chemistry, drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics (DMPK) and efficacy screening. Pharmaron will conduct these services with a team of several hundred scientists in dedicated research laboratories in its newly opened drug discovery service center in Beijing. The co-location of screening and chemistry services at a single partner is expected to help AZ scientists drive their drug discovery programs with greater efficiency.

Manos Perros, head of infection imed for AZ, said, "We are pleased to enter this strategic partnership with Pharmaron which we believe will help us progress projects through our R&D pipeline more efficiently. Pharmaron scientists will be integrated into our project teams and will play an important role in helping us fulfill our commitment to delivering meaningful medicines to patients worldwide."

Creating novel R&D models for pharmaceutical companies and CROs that nurture pharmaceutical innovation has been Pharmaron's focal point for years, as pharma companies have been seeking integrated partnerships with CROs to optimize their drug discovery and development pipelines. Pharmaron has built technology-based drug discovery service platforms with a focus on key therapeutic areas, as an integrated service partner to pharma and biotech companies.

Founded in 2003, Pharmaron provides R&D services including chemistry, biology, DMPK, pharmacology, chemical development and safety assessment. It has more than 2,000 employees and operations in China and the U.S.