Horizon CombinatoRx to perform drug combination screening on lead oncology asset

Horizon Discovery Group plc (LSE:HZD) (Horizon), a leading provider of research tools to support translational genomics and the development of personalized medicines, today announced that its Horizon CombinatoRx division has been contracted by a top ten pharma company to profile a lead oncology asset. Under the terms of the agreement, Horizon CombinatoRx will be paid approximately USD $450,000 (GBP £276,000) for work to be completed within a six month period.

Horizon will provide services to support proof-of-concept, monotherapy screening, and combination screening for the lead asset. Horizon CombinatoRx provides its partners access to the unique cHTS platform and Chalice™ analytics software, which enable the screening and analysis of thousands of complementary drug combinations.  Combined with Horizon’s GENESIS™ (rAAV, CRISPR and ZFN) gene editing platform and X-MAN™ isogenic cell line technology, Horizon CombinatoRx offers services including novel phenotypic cell-based screens with compound siRNA, shRNA and sgRNA (for CRISPR based screening) libraries.

Dr Darrin M Disley, Chief Executive Officer of Horizon Discovery Group plc, commented: “We are delighted that Horizon CombinatoRx continues to gain traction in the market, following the acquisition earlier this year.  This latest contract with a top ten pharma in the oncology space continues to demonstrate the potential of this business and the value Horizon CombinatoRx can offer to support key drug discovery and development programs in cancer.”

Horizon Discovery completed the acquisition of the CombinatoRx service business and assets from Zalicus Inc. in June 2014.

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