Merck Millipore launches UbiquitinProfiler Services for drug developers

Merck Millipore has announced the launch of a new drug profiling service to aid the creation of therapies that target the ubiquitin pathway.

The company's new UbiquitinProfiler Services offering is the first of its kind and allows users to more easily determine the potency and selectivity of compounds targeting ubiquitin ligases, an important enzyme type in a pathway linked to several serious diseases.

Researchers will send compounds to Merck Millipore to be assessed for their ability to enhance or inhibit the ubiquination pathway, using a panel of validated assays.

This will help to accelerate drug discovery efforts that have previously been hindered by the complexity of the ubiquitination cascade, thus opening the door for new therapies for neurodegeneration, cancer, inflammation and muscle-wasting disorders.

Dr Steve Davies, director of Merck Millipore's site in Dundee, said: "With our UbiquitinProfiler Services, we are able to more rapidly and effectively assess how potential drug compounds impact the ubiquitin pathway."

This comes after the firm launched its new EZ-Stream vacuum pump for microbiological analysis last month.