Afraxis, Inc. And Servier Announce A Collaboration On ESP Platform For Drug Discovery In Central Nervous System Disorders

San Diego, CA and Paris France - Afraxis, Inc. ("Afraxis") and Institut de Recherches Servier ("Servier") announced a non-exclusive platform collaboration using Afraxis' Enhanced Spine Platform (ESP) Technology for the discovery of drugs to treat central nervous system (CNS) disorders.  Afraxis' ESP Technology rapidly assesses complex neural networks to evaluate preclinical efficacy and safety in CNS disorders. The technology quantifies and characterizes the morphology and maturity of synaptic dendritic spines, which are fundamental to information processing in the brain. Financial terms have not been disclosed.

"Servier is committed to bringing new medicines for the treatment of a variety of CNS diseases and disorders," said Dr. Emmanuel Canet , President of Servier Research & Development. "We recognize that Afraxis is a global leader in dendritic spine analysis which provides a sophisticated and quantifiable read-out on neuroprotection."

Dr. Christian de Bodinat, Director of CNS Research & Development added, "The ESP Technology will allow Servier to fully investigate the broad potential of our drug candidates with the aim of bringing novel medicines into the clinic more rapidly and with greater certainty of action. Servier is very active in the field of neurology with two potential first-in-class compounds in Phase II studies in Alzheimer Disease and five other compounds aimed at treating neurodegenerative diseases in late preclinical stages."

The Afraxis ESP Technology is highly adaptable to many CNS disease models and can be used to characterize disease profiles, assess preclinical drug efficacy, identify optimal dosing routines, or identify undesirable CNS side effects.

"Servier has a strong commitment to CNS therapeutics, and their interest in the ESP Technology further illustrates the potential of this platform in a drug discovery setting," said Carmine Stengone , president and CEO of Afraxis.  "We are excited to kick-off this collaboration with Servier and look forward to a fruitful relationship."