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null RI-MUHC technology platforms form new partnerships to accelerate research and drug discovery

Partnerships between NMX Research and Solutions, the RI-MUHC and McGill’s Centre de recherche en biologie structurale provide a new collaborative hub for NMR and biophysics research

Source: RI-MUHC

Today’s scientific research often requires expensive equipment and extensive expertise in cutting-edge techniques. Thanks to the Centre for Translational Biology Technology Platforms at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC), researchers have been able to access a wide range of tools and trained personnel to accelerate their research, without having to purchase equipment or hire specialized staff.

The RI-MUHC is pleased to announce that the Proteomics and Molecular Analysis (PMA) Platform has partnered with NMX Research and Solutions (NMX) to create a new collaborative hub to accelerate the discovery of new drugs and new research tools in chemical biology. NMX is a contract research organization that supports early-stage drug discovery with NMR fragment screening, biophysics-based hit and lead validation, medicinal chemistry, and protein production.

Thanks to this new partnership, academic researchers will be able to access the technologies and expertise needed to conduct and support drug discovery using fragment-based drug design (FBDD). FBDD is a powerful approach to identify very small molecules (fragments) that can bind to and modulate the activity of drug targets, either proteins or RNA. FBDD has been used successfully to develop drugs against difficult targets, and recently one of the first drugs to reach Phase III clinical trials for Alzheimer’s disease.

The PMA Platform at the RI-MUHC also specializes in mass spectrometry and proteomics to explore drug-target interactions. Thanks to a new working relationship with the Centre de recherche en biologie structurale at McGill University, the PMA platform can also provide access to equipment and expertise in X-ray crystallography (XRC). XRC is a method to determine the 3D structure of drugs when bound to their targets.

The PMA Platform provides an outstanding combination of technologies that is unique in Quebec. These new partnerships have the potential to serve and expand the capacity of both academic researchers and biopharmaceutical companies. Contact the PMA Platform to learn more.

Research associate Anne-Laure Larroque, PhD, and Lorne Taylor, manager of the Proteomics and Molecular Analysis Platform at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre
Research associate Anne-Laure Larroque, PhD, and Lorne Taylor, manager of the Proteomics and Molecular Analysis Platform at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre

June 2, 2023