China-based biotechnology firm NetVation DL Medicine has formed a two-year research partnership with Pfizer for the discovery and development of new drug candidates.

Under the agreement, the firms will screen and produce new chemical entities for pre-selected targets belonging to various therapeutic segments, while Pfizer has taken a financial stake in the Chinese firm.

DL Medicine works by leveraging resources, funding and technologies from the increasing biotechnology capabilities of the life sciences industry in the country, and uses new approaches to detect and develop drugs.

DL Medicine CEO Dr Wei Chen said: "We are delighted to announce this collaboration with Pfizer, and we look forward to working together to potentially discover new chemical entities for the treatment of diseases that negatively impact the health of patients worldwide."

As part of the partnership, the firms will utilise another Chinese firm HitGen’s DNA-encoded libraries for validation of early targets, identifying new chemical matter and conducting lead optimisation.

DNA-encoded libraries are said to combine the beneficial aspects from standard combinatorial libraries and display technologies such as phage display.

DL Medicine and Pfizer additionally intend to use other screening technology platforms for the research.

Pfizer External Science & Innovation executive director Yuan-Hua Ding said: "New target ideas and novel chemical matter are critical to our success in bringing new therapies to patients around the world.

"This collaboration represents our worldwide commitment to partnering with companies that are doing innovative scientific work to help enhance our portfolio across multiple disease areas."

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