Cenix is tasked with completing three programs and will use AstraZeneca validation assays.

Cenix Bioscience signed a multiproject research agreement with AstraZeneca in the areas of respiratory and inflammation-related diseases. The deal essentially expands the companies’ ongoing relationship in the field of oncology.

Cenix specializes in combining advanced RNAi applications for gene silencing with high-content phenotyping in cultured cells in vitro and in animals in vivo. The new agreement, will involve Cenix completing at least three major projects using its RNAi-based research platforms. Research carried out by the company will integrate multipass, genome-scale screens for drug discovery, with detailed validation analyses using a number of primary human cell types.

Cenix will also adapt assays originally developed at AstraZeneca, which combine automated microscopy and Cellenger-based image analysis, for optimization with high-throughput RNAi studies in 384- or 1,536-well formats. “We particularly welcome the approach chosen by AstraZeneca here of tightly integrating the discovery screens with subsequent validation studies, a strategy that we have been strongly advocating for some years,” comments Christophe Echeverri, Ph.D., Cenix’ CEO/CSO. 


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