ShangPharma Innovation and SRI International Announce Drug Discovery Collaboration

MENLO PARK, Calif., Oct. 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- ShangPharma Innovation Inc. (SPII) and SRI International today announced a strategic collaboration to accelerate the development of innovative pharmaceuticals targeting neuroinflammation as a treatment for Alzheimer's and other diseases.

This collaboration with SRI marks another milestone for SPII in its effort to enable a series of promising therapeutic projects at major institutions with a history of innovative contributions to biomedical research.  Internationally recognized for its expertise through all stages of drug discovery and development, SRI Biosciences, a division of SRI International, has a well-established drug pipeline, having advanced four if its own drugs to market and more than 100 partner medicines to clinical trials.

"It has been said that Alzheimer's disease could bankrupt the nation by 2050 in the absence of major advances," said Walter H. Moos, Ph.D., CEO of SPII and retired president of SRI Biosciences. "I am exceptionally pleased to work again with outstanding colleagues at SRI to tackle such an important problem."

"We are delighted to join with SPII to address one of the most debilitating diseases of our time," said Nathan Collins, Ph.D., vice president of SRI Biosciences. "At a time when new approaches are desperately needed, SRI's proven track record in target discovery and validation, combined with SRI's and SPII's joint expertise in accelerating drug discovery, will help to create new treatments for Alzheimer's and other diseases where inflammation is an underlying issue."

"As a non-profit, SRI deeply values initiatives and partnerships that have the potential to make the world healthier, safer, and more productive," said Manish Kothari, Ph.D., president of SRI Ventures. "This initiative exemplifies those core values, and highlights SRI's willingness to invest in challenging projects with high impact potential."

Under the terms of the agreement, SPII and SRI will apply state-of-the-art methods to advance novel enzyme inhibitors that target brain inflammation and will seek third party licensees for the compounds. SPII will work with preferred partners, including its affiliate, ChemPartner, to provide discovery and development capabilities to SPII and SRI collaborative projects. The organizations will design, screen, carry out mechanistic studies, and ultimately progress novel drug candidates toward clinical trials. SPII and SRI will share in the business success of the program.

About ShangPharma Innovation

ShangPharma Innovation Inc., is a novel healthcare venture capital firm founded in the US in 2016. ShangPharma Innovation accelerates and facilitates pharmaceutical discovery and development ? focusing on therapeutics and technology platforms ? and offers funding, incubator space, and other support to its ecosystem of portfolio companies, collaborators, and partners. This includes sponsoring biotech start-ups and proof-of-concept research at major academic and medical centers and research institutes. For more information, see http://www.spiivc.com.

About SRI Biosciences

SRI Biosciences, a division of SRI International, creates innovations in the life sciences through integration of basic biomedical research with drug and diagnostics discovery and preclinical and clinical development. SRI International creates world-changing solutions making people safer, healthier, and more productive. SRI, a research center headquartered in Menlo Park, California, works primarily in advanced technology and systems, biosciences, computing, and education. SRI brings its innovations to the marketplace through technology licensing, spin-off ventures and new product solutions.

About ChemPartner

Shanghai ChemPartner Co. Ltd., along with its subsidiary entities, is a leading research organization providing high-quality and cost-effective contract research services for the biopharmaceutical industry. ChemPartner offers integrated services across the drug discovery and development process to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies worldwide. ChemPartner's dedication to life science is seen through its broad range of services, from discovery biologics, discovery chemistry, discovery biology, and preclinical development through pharmaceutical development and manufacturing services for small molecules and biologics. For more information, see http://www.chempartner.com.

SOURCE SRI International