Pelago & AstraZeneca collaborate further on potential of CETSA tech

Karolinska Institute spin out company, Pelago Bioscience, has entered into a strategic research collaboration and licence agreement with AstraZeneca for the further advancement of the Cellular Thermal Shift Assay (CETSA) method and its use in pre-clinical discovery.

CETSA, developed by Pelago Bioscience, allows researchers to directly detect when a compound binds to the drug target within cells and can exclusively identify compounds that directly bind to the human Androgen Receptor. Moreover, the method enables the differentiation of direct binders from co-regulator inhibitors.

“We are excited by this continued collaborative agreement with AstraZeneca. During the first two years, we developed a close working relationship and high degree of personal enthusiasm and commitment,” revealed Michael Dabrowski, CEO of Pelago Bioscience. “Both organisations have delivered valuable results that have enabled us to benchmark the applicability and value of CETSA data within pharmaceutical R&D. We believe that CETSA has the ability to transform the early research process and to cut drug discovery timelines significantly.”

“CETSA is an exciting technology that will allow us to examine the interaction between a drug candidate and its protein target within the cell,” added Steve Rees, vice president Discovery Biology at AstraZeneca. “We are pleased to be exploring the potential of this platform in an open collaboration with the scientists at Pelago.”