DELFT, The Netherlands and JOHANNESBURG, November 25 /PRNewswire/ -- iThemba Pharmaceuticals' service division and Pyxis Discovery announced today that they have signed a collaborative agreement to jointly market both companies' services.

Pyxis's world class computational chemistry and lead discovery expertise will be coupled with iThemba's service division to provide medicinal and synthetic chemistry support to projects identified through Pyxis' international client network. iThemba Pharmaceuticals and Pyxis Discovery also announced today that they are entering into a co-marketing agreement to offer virtual libraries which will be exclusively synthesized for clients. Pyxis's smart approach of designing and selecting compounds facilitates a rapid and efficient lead discovery and library design process and this coupled to iThemba's expertise in synthetic and medicinal chemistry will provide our customers with a unique service offering opportunity.

"The intellectual and technological support from Pyxis will enhance both of our service offerings," said Chris Edlin, CSO of iThemba. "Our customers will gain the advantage of our coupled expertise in design, synthesis and medicinal chemistry prowess."

"Combining the outstanding medicinal chemistry expertise of iThemba with our design approach helps us to provide our clients with a more complete set of services, resulting in swiftly progressing lead discovery and optimization projects." said Ron van der Valk, Managing Director of Pyxis Discovery. "In addition to this, we hope that our collaboration with iThemba will support their ambition to bring affordable medicines to the less fortunate people in this world."

About iThemba Pharmaceutical (Pty) Ltd. (http://www.ithembapharma.com)

iThemba Pharmaceuticals (Pty) Ltd., based in Modderfontein, Gauteng, South Africa is founded to discover and develop new and affordable medicines for the diseases of poverty in Africa. The company is funded by the Biotechnology Regional Innovation Centers, LIFElab and BioPAD of the Department of Science and Technology, Government of South Africa. Utilizing leading edge proprietary technology and its expertise in synthetic organic chemistry, iThemba Pharmaceuticals will become the premier research focal point in Africa for infectious diseases including HIV, tuberculosis, malaria and their associated co-infections. The company will create shareholder value by coupling the company's own drug discovery efforts with collaborative research initiatives and cash-generating contracts to reduce the risks and costs of developing medicines for neglected diseases and low profit-margin markets.

About Pyxis Discovery B.V. (http://www.pyxis-discovery.com)

The ambition of Pyxis Discovery is to be the preferred chemistry service provider for companies that are active in small molecule drug discovery. Pyxis Discovery's Smart approach of designing and selecting compound libraries facilitates a rapid and efficient lead discovery process, yielding lead compounds with excellent pharmacological profiles. Pyxis Discovery uses proprietary software algorithms for compound design and selection and a Global Supplier Database of nearly all commercially available screening compounds to provide its clients with screening libraries that are tailored to their specific needs. Furthermore, Pyxis Discovery offers high quality compound libraries off the shelf. Pyxis Discovery is headquartered in the Netherlands and has a worldwide presence with also an office in Boston, Massachusetts and representation in Japan.

SOURCE Pyxis Discovery B.V.

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