X-Chem reveals another new research collaboration

Swiftly on the heels of its deal with Germany’s Bayer, US privately-held biotech firm X-Chem has entered into its second research collaboration this month and the fourth this year.

This one is with San Diego-based Abilita Bio, also a privately held biotech company, and is a joint research collaboration that will leverage the synergy between each company’s platform technology to enable the discovery of novel modulators of high-value G-protein coupled receptors (GPCR) and ion channel targets.

X-Chem’s DEX DNA-encoded library collection allows for the simultaneous screening of over 120 billion discrete compounds in a single test tube, each attached to its own unique DNA tag that identifies the synthetic history and structure of the compound. Since its founding in 2010, X-Chem has successfully identified and out-licensed hits and leads against some of the most intractable therapeutic targets for its pharma and biotech partners, including GPCR and ion channel targets.