Sigma-Aldrich’s custom manufacturing and services business unit, SAFC, has signed an agreement with South Korea-based CrystalGenomics, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, to support the development of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) for next-generation non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID).

The agreement represents SAFC’s premier pre-formulation services contract into the growing South Korean pharmaceutical market.

CrystalGenomics is focused on the discovery and development of innovative drugs based on structural chemoproteomics, a technology designed to accelerate drug discovery. The company is developing three clinical stage candidates. The lead program is a next-generation NSAID for osteoarthritis and is in phase III development. In addition to next-generation NSAID, the company is developing multiple novel candidates in various stages of development for various therapeutic areas with focus on inflammation, oncology, CNS and infection.

Per the agreement, CrystalGenomics will employ SAFC’s Pharmorphix pre-formulation technology services which are based in Cambridge, U.K., to enable understandings of the physical properties of APIs. The services can also aid in determining the selection of optimal crystallization processes, ensure batch-to-batch consistency in manufacturing and help to maintain efficacy and patient safety.

"Our expertise in the pre-formulation of pharmaceuticals has allowed us to engage with CrystalGenomics through this agreement and to introduce our unique technologies to the South Korea market," said Gilles Cottier, president of SAFC. "As the drug discovery and development process becomes increasingly complex and expensive, we feel that our pre-formulation services are well-positioned to help pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies around the globe to accelerate their pipelines."