Roche and AstraZeneca are collaborating to share early research data related to drug design to further accelerate discovery of high-quality compounds with an increased chance of clinical success.

Using a dedicated technology called Matched Molecular Pair Analysis (MMPA), modifications will be identified that companies can apply to their compound structures to improve their metabolism, pharmacokinetics or safety without divulging confidential information about their chemical structures. This gives both companies the opportunity to reapply useful medicinal chemistry know-how embedded in their combined databases of experimental results, to identify potential new drug candidates using fewer rounds of design, synthesis and testing.

"AstraZeneca has taken multiple steps to both open our compound libraries to those wishing to find new chemistries for early drug discovery and to share compound-related datasets that will allow our industry to speed the discovery of new medicines," said Mike Snowden, head of Discovery Sciences in Innovative Medicines and Early Development (IMED), which initiated the collaboration.

The data-sharing will be managed through an intermediary company, MedChemica, which has expertise in MMPA. The consortium is open to other large companies to add their knowledge, to gain access to and enhance the resource.