¡¡¡¡SAN DIEGO, Sept. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- ChemDiv, Inc. (San Diego) announced today that its Chemical Diversity Research Institute (CDRI, Moscow) is undertaking a partnership with the Blokhin Russian Oncology Center (RONC) of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, the US Department of Energy (DOE), and the US National Cancer Institute (NCI) to develop novel small molecule therapies for the prevention and treatment of prostate cancer (PRC). The partnership will operate under the auspices of The Global Initiatives for Proliferation Prevention Program.

    PRC is the most frequently occurring cancer among males in developed countries and accounts for nine percent of cancer deaths in men, second only to lung cancers. PRC is frequently asymptomatic in the early stages, and later stage diagnosis greatly reduces the efficacy of available therapeutic methods.

    This project sets a vivid example of international cooperation between leading Russian and U.S. research centers in medical science research aimed at life threatening diseases. CDRI and its collaborators will deploy post-genome technologies including rational drug design and medicinal chemistry, chemical genomics and systems biology to support efficient preclinical discovery and development programs. The American partners from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL, DOE) will provide a knowledge base system for chemical and biological information, using Modular Chemical Descriptor Language technology. Experts from other Russian leading academic research institutions and the NCI will be engaged in the project.

    "ChemDiv and CDRI established a long track record of success in lead discovery, with specific expertise in oncology pathway chemistry and biology," said Dmitry Kravchenko, General Director of CDRI. "This opportunity allows us to expand our collaboration with the leading experts in oncology and rational drug design in an especially meaningful context -- targeting a major unmet need for new approached to the prevention and treatment for prostate cancer in United States, Russia, and world wide."

    The initial two-year partnership has received financial commitments in excess of US$1,000,000. CDRI and DOE will have joint rights to commercialize products in most of the world, whereas CDRI will have exclusive commercial rights for markets in Russia and certain other countries.

    About The Global Initiatives for Proliferation Prevention Program of the U.S. Department of Energy (GIPP/DOE): The mission of The Global Initiatives for Proliferation Prevention program encourages and supports cooperative civilian research between US research teams and researchers from the countries of the former USSR, utilizing their extensive hi-tech and scientific experience. The goals of GIPP-sponsored joint projects are to promote identification and utilization of new scientific and technical resources, and to increase the investment appeal and commercial potential of technologies developed in scientific research institutes of the former Soviet Union.

    http://www.nnsa.doe.gov

    About CDRI: The Chemical Diversity Research Institute, housed in dedicated world-class research facilities in Moscow, is a leading Russian commercial biotech specialized in advanced combinatorial, medicinal and computational chemistry; and high-throughput screening for early drug discovery.

    http://www.iihr.ru

    About ChemDiv: ChemDiv Inc. (Chemical Diversity) is a global chemistry-driven contract research organization focused on identifying and delivering pre-clinical opportunities and services for life science partners, merging industrial and academic efforts to bring new approaches to the treatment of life-threatening diseases.

    http://www.chemdiv.com

    About Blokhin Russian Oncology Center (RONC): The Russian Oncology Center is the leading oncology research and clinical institution specialized in diagnostics and development of anticancer therapies. The Center provides a comprehensive range of therapies from oncology specialists; and performs clinical research, therapeutic development, and pursues translational onco-medicine.

    http://www.ronc.ru

    About NCI: The National Cancer Institute is the world''s largest organization solely dedicated to cancer research. NCI supports researchers at universities and hospitals across the United States and at NCIDesignated Cancer Centers, a network of facilities that not only study cancer in laboratories, but conduct research on the best ways to rapidly bring the fruits of scientific discovery to cancer patients. As the leader of the National Cancer Program, NCI provides vision and leadership to the global cancer community, conducting and supporting international research, training, health information dissemination, and other programs.

    About Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL/ DOE)

    ORNL is a multi-program science and technology laboratory managed for the U.S. Department of Energy by UT-Battelle, LLC. Scientists and engineers at ORNL conduct basic and applied research and development to create scientific knowledge and technological solutions that strengthen America''s leadership in key areas of science; increase the availability of clean, abundant energy; restore and protect the environment; and contribute to national security.

    Source: ChemDiv, Inc.
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