Schrödinger has expanded collaboration with AstraZeneca focused on refining a biologics modeling solution with the aim of speeding up the development of antibody and protein-based therapeutic candidates.

The multi-year agreement extends an existing collaboration in which AstraZeneca is deploying Schrödinger’s computational platform to advance small molecule drug discovery efforts. The new collaboration is aimed at enhancing Schrödinger’s Free Energy Perturbation (FEP+) technology for the optimization of key properties of biologics, such as affinity and selectivity, with particular focus on binding affinity. {module INSIDE STORY}

“This expansion of our collaboration with AstraZeneca has the potential to transform biologics research by further extending the power of physics-based computational modeling to the design of antibodies and protein therapeutics. It’s an exciting collaboration that underscores our commitment to continue investing in research to extend the reach of our industry-leading platform,” said Robert Abel, Ph.D., EVP of Science, Schrödinger.

Tristan Vaughan, VP Antibody Discovery and Protein Engineering, R&D, AstraZeneca said: “Our aim through this collaboration is to discover higher affinity, stable, and more potent biologics much more efficiently than previously possible. This is part of an ambitious program we have to augment traditional protein-based drug design to deliver high-quality novel biologics rapidly to the clinic.”