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Aqilion opens Lund office to expedite new initiative for drug projects in early discovery phase

Aqilion recently launched two new innovative drug projects. One of them, Alnitak, is being run with Red Glead Discovery and SARomics Biostructures as prioritized CROs (contract research organizations) and partners in Aqilion’s expansion of new projects in early phase.
Aqilion opens a branch office at Medicon Village in Lund in order to more efficiently work and integrate with its new partners. The office also provides Aqilion with a local presence and expedites collaborative efforts with the university and the infrastructure that Lund offers a life science company.

Aqilion’s Alnitak project has two interesting applications. The goal is to develop drug candidates that bind to a target protein that is essential for both malignant disease development and for inflammatory conditions. A successful project can therefore help to develop new medications to treat orphan drug indications in the field of autoinflammatory diseases, as well as new combination therapies within the field of oncology, primarily intestinal cancer.

Aqilion owns, operates and finances the project and identified, already at the idea stage, Red Glead Discovery and SARomics Biostructures as the CRO companies with the necessary expertise and infrastructure. In addition to a highly experienced team, our new partners offer a technical infrastructure such as a unique platform to identify drug candidates, known as Weak Affinity Chromatography (WAC™), as well as the opportunity to use Max IV in Lund for structure determination over the course of the project. MAX IV is Sweden’s largest and most ambitious research infrastructure initiative and has been the world’s brightest synchrotron light facility since its commissioning in 2016.

“To meet Aqilion’s needs for cutting-edge expertise and experience in drug discovery, we chose Red Glead and SARomics at an early stage. The collaborative effort is driven by a well-integrated and creative process in a common operational structure. I am convinced that this collaborative effort in our new Alnitak drug project will result in synergies, greater knowledge within the team and strong collaboration in the future in brand new projects. I look forward to this opportunity to work with an extremely talented team which, together with us at Aqilion, will create valuable and innovative assets,” says Sarah Fredriksson, CEO of AQILION AB.

“This collaboration with Aqilion and SARomics is extremely exciting. The opportunity to conduct early industrial drug research in Sweden that is not dependent on government grants is really stimulating,” says Johan Evenäs, CEO of Red Glead Discovery AB.

“I look forward to working with Aqilion in this innovative project in which our and Red Glead’s WAC™ technology will be an important component. I have great respect for Aqilion’s bold decision to expand its operations with new projects in early phase,” says Björn Walse, CEO of SARomics Biostructures AB.

For more information, please contact
Sarah Fredriksson, CEO, AQILION AB, +46 (0)70 261 4575, sarah.fredriksson@www.aqilion.com

About AQILION AB
Aqilion is a Swedish life science company that identifies unique ideas that have the potential to become new medications and refines them into commercially interesting projects. Our projects are based on solid scientific grounds where we can clearly understand the underlying biology, clinical relevance and patient benefit. We focus on indications within inflammation at the interface of oncology and immunology, where we see a great future need, good potential for innovation and a clear interest in the market. Our customers represent the next step in the care chain: the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. Aqilion has its headquarters in Helsingborg, Sweden. Please visit www.www.aqilion.com.

About Red Glead Discovery AB
Red Glead Discovery is one of Sweden’s fastest growing companies within the Life Science area, focused on preclinical contract research (Drug Discovery) on small molecules and peptides. Since its inception in 2011, the company has served close to 200 customers globally to develop their ideas towards new drugs. The company, founded by seven employees from AstraZeneca R&D Lund, has grown to 33 employees and is located with fit-for-purpose laboratories and offices at Medicon Village in Lund, Sweden. www.redglead.com

About SARomics Biostructures AB
SARomics Biostructures provides premium services within protein crystallization, structure determination, computational chemistry and fragment-based hit generation. SARomics has built a global reputation for its structural biology skills and is currently supporting clients in Asia, Europe, North America and Scandinavia to pursue their drug discovery objectives. www.saromics.com