Beactica awarded grant for pioneering brain research

Beactica, the Swedish fragment-based drug discovery company, today announced its participation in a European expertise network that will address human brain disease. The network, called SynSys, has been awarded funding through the 7th EU Framework Programme and aims to achieve a new level of understanding of the synapse – the part of a nerve cell which enables communication with other nerve cells – through molecular analysis and dynamic modelling. Over a four year period EU will contribute to SynSys in excess of €10.4 million, of which Beactica will receive €445 000.

"Disorders of the brain and the central nervous system affect one in three people in the developed world and Beactica wants to work towards therapies in this area” commented Professor Helena Danielson, Beactica’s Chief Scientific Officer. "We are excited to part of the SynSys network and look forward to work with excellent research institutes and cutting-edge biotechnology companies to improve our understanding of synaptic function.”

The SynSys network consists of 16 partners including the Karolinska Institute, the Max Planck Institute, the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, EMBL-EBI and INSERM, and is coordinated by the Vrije Universiteit of Amsterdam. The overall goal is to generate a blueprint for the discovery of novel pathways and targets that enable rational strategies to design therapies for human brain disease. Beactica’s contribution involves applying its state-of-the-art discovery platform to analyse the interactions between selected synaptic proteins. Understanding the characteristics of such interactions and their regulation is a key aspect of successful drug discovery. SynSys is Beactica’s third EU-funded research project that focuses on fundamental brain research and will run parallel to the already ongoing Neurocypres and BrainTrain.

For additional information please contact Dr Per Källblad, Beactica CEO, +46 18 560880.
The official webpage of SynSys is www.synsys.eu

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