AMRI Launches its U.S. Integrated Drug Discovery Center

BUFFALO, N.Y., Dec. 7, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Albany Molecular Research Inc. (NASDAQ: AMRI) today introduces its new U.S.-based integrated drug discovery center in Buffalo, N.Y. Located on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus and part of the larger commitment by the State of New York with SUNY Polytechnic Institute, this drug discovery center offers customers leading-edge platforms and capabilities for developing new approaches to discover life-saving therapies.  The center will increase translation to the clinic by leveraging expertise in biology, high-throughput screening (HTS), medicinal chemistry and pharmacology integrated within a single site in the United States.

"We are excited to launch a realigned and upgraded discovery service offering for our customers through our new center for global drug discovery in Buffalo," said Christopher Conway, Senior Vice President, Discovery and Development, AMRI. "AMRI is the only North American based Discovery CRO with biology, pharmacology, HTS and chemistry located in one building, in the center of a hub of complimentary biotech, major medical and academic centers. This hub for drug discovery provides our customers and partners with the speed in decision-making and depth of collaboration needed to accelerate speed of data and maximize results."

AMRI's world-class HTS capabilities include compound and sample management, conventional and next-generation HTS and access to state-of-the-art equipment and readout instruments. Instrumentation – such as PerkinElmer, Inc.'s cell::explorer™ high content screening platform and Opera Phenix™ high content screening system – provides an ideal combination of biologically relevant readouts and throughput; this technology is differentiating how phenotypic screening is being conducted in drug discovery today.

"The ultimate aim of this site is to provide a suite of discovery services, from assay development and HTS to medicinal chemistry and in vitro pharmacology, that will reduce data cycle times in order to improve the value of our customers' discovery programs, as well as offer ease-of-communication with project teams and functional groups," said Rory Curtis, Vice President, Discovery Biology and Pharmacology, and Site Head of AMRI Buffalo. "AMRI is coupling its broad target-class coverage with state-of-the-art equipment to fulfill unmet needs for our customers when it comes to the expertise and experience they should be receiving from their drug discovery CRO partners."

AMRI has partnered with New York State as a founding member of the Buffalo Medical Innovation and Commercialization Hub (BMIC). This hub efficiently combines the expertise of academic and industrial partners, creating opportunities for new collaborations to develop new approaches. AMRI's core competencies include reagent generation; assay development; hit-finding HTS; fast-track, hit-to-lead and lead optimization medicinal chemistry; in vitro pharmacology; in vitro absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, toxicity (ADMET); and antibody drug conjugate optimization.

"The aim of the hub  is to create a translational science center that will leverage the infrastructure of partner institutions, including SUNY Polytechnic Institute, the University at Buffalo School of Medicine, University at Buffalo Clinical and Translational Research Center, Buffalo General Hospital, Jacobs Institute, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, and the Hauptman Woodward Institute," Mr. Conway said.

About AMRI 
Albany Molecular Research Inc. (AMRI) is a global contract research and manufacturing organization that has been working with the Life Sciences industry to improve patient outcomes and the quality of life for more than two decades. With locations in North America, Europe and Asia, our key business segments include Discovery and Development Solutions (DDS), Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API), and Drug Product Manufacturing (DPM). Our DDS segment provides comprehensive services from hit identification to IND, including expertise with diverse chemistry, library design and synthesis, in vitro biology and pharmacology, drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics, as well as natural products. API supports the chemical development and cGMP manufacture of complex API, including potent, controlled substances, biologics, peptides, steroids, hormones, cytotoxic compounds and sterile API. DPM supports development through commercial scale production of complex liquid-filled and lyophilized parenterals, sterile suspensions and ophthalmic formulations. For more information about AMRI, please visit our website at www.amriglobal.com or follow us on Twitter (@amriglobal).

About SUNY Polytechnic Institute 
SUNY Polytechnic Institute (SUNY Poly) is New York's globally recognized, high-tech educational ecosystem, formed from the merger of the SUNY College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering and SUNY Institute of Technology. SUNY Poly offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in the emerging disciplines of nanoscience and nanoengineering, as well as cutting-edge nanobioscience and nanoeconomics programs at its Albany location and undergraduate and graduate degrees in technology, including engineering, cybersecurity, computer science, and the engineering technologies; professional studies, including business, communication, and nursing; and arts and sciences, including natural sciences, mathematics, humanities, and social sciences at its Utica/Rome location. Thriving athletic, recreational, and cultural programs, events, and activities complement the campus experience. As the world's most advanced, university-driven research enterprise, SUNY Poly boasts more than $43 billion in high-tech investments, over 300 corporate partners, and maintains a statewide footprint. The 1.3 million-square-foot Albany NanoTech megaplex is home to more than 4,000 scientists, researchers, engineers, students, faculty, and staff, in addition to Tech Valley High School. SUNY Poly operates the Smart Cities Technology Innovation Center (SCiTI) at Kiernan Plaza in Albany, the Solar Energy Development Center in Halfmoon, the Children's Museum of Science and Technology (CMOST) in Troy, the Central New York Hub for Emerging Nano Industries in Syracuse, the Smart System Technology and Commercialization Center (STC) in Canandaigua, and the Photovoltaic Manufacturing and Technology Development Facility in Rochester where SUNY Poly also leads the American Institute for Manufacturing Integrated Photonics. SUNY Poly founded and manages the Computer Chip Commercialization Center (Quad-C) at its Utica location and also manages the $500 million New York Power Electronics Manufacturing Consortium, with nodes in Albany and Rochester, as well as the Buffalo High-Tech Manufacturing Innovation Hub at RiverBend, Buffalo Information Technologies Innovation and Commercialization Hub, and Buffalo Medical Innovation and Commercialization Hub. For information, visit www.sunycnse.com and www.sunypoly.edu.

SOURCE AMRI

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