Johnson Matthey, a US provider of pharmaceutical services, active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and catalyst technologies, has announced plans to collaborate with Cambridge, UK-based small-molecule drug discovery company Domainex to provide integrated small molecule pharmaceutical discovery and development services. The future partners said they have recognized that there is customer demand for simplified and effective drug discovery and development services.

Declared aim of the collaboration is to provide academic institutes, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies across the UK and beyond with “effective, simplified, rapid and reduced risk target-to-lead identification, optimization, safety/toxicology, pre-clinical and clinical API supply services.”

The US company said the British firm’s range of services complements the pre-clinical to commercial range provided by its Johnson Matthey Fine Chemicals’ Custom Pharma Solutions in Europe.

Through an integrated offering co-located in the Cambridge region, customers will have access to Domainex’s target-to-lead identification and optimization capabilities. Subsequently, they will be able to transfer their projects directly to Johnson Matthey, utilizing that company’s Pharmorphix solid state services for effective salt form and polymorph identification through to process development, scale-up and non-GMP toxicology manufacture.

With all activities co-located in the Cambridge area, discovery and development time and risk can be greatly minimized, the companies said.