Neurix SA partners with top Swiss university for the development of SARS-CoV-2 in vitro assays

Neurix (www.neurix.ch), the Swiss-based company providing cell- and organoid-based assays, and a collaboration of the University of Geneva and the University Hospital of Geneva, today announce that they have reached agreement on technology transfer.

Researchers at the University have developed a new assay for the identification of potent inhibitors of coronaviruses and its genetic variants. As a result of this agreement, Neurix has finalized the full technical validation of the assay, and started commercializing as a drug testing service worldwide.

Speaking about the plans, Dr Nikolay Zhukovsky, CEO of Neurix, said:
“We believe this assay allows the rapid identification of potent inhibitors of coronavirus and its variants. This is an incredibly exciting addition to our service portfolio, and fits with our strategy of proposing cell-based assays for the screening of drug compounds.”

Professor Karl-Heinz Krause head of a translation research group at the Dept. of Pathology and Immunology at the University of Geneva, said:
“We believe this assay will allow the quantification of neutralizing antibodies, as well as a rapid identification of potent inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 and its variants. Importantly it also allows to determine the activity of compounds against other pathogenic coronaviruses – SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV – thereby improving the chance of being active against a future coronavirus pandemic.”

Dr Jennifer Cadby, Licensing Officer at the University of Geneva, added:
“We’re delighted to have signed this agreement with Neurix and are excited to combine the expertise of the groups in Geneva” Any enquiries concerning Neurix service portfolio can be directed to info@neurix.ch. For further information on the University of Geneva, please visit www.unige.ch

About Neurix
Neurix is a Swiss-based biotechnology company that develops innovative in-vitro systems for drug efficacy and toxicity testing. The company’s MiniBrain(TM) is an advanced platform that provides 3D insights into neurodegenerative disease modelling and progression. Based in Geneva, Switzerland it is an active participant in numerous local, pan-European, as well as international research grants.

The services are provided via multiple platforms:
Neuroscience platform. Microglial cells are being implemented in our 3D organoids, particularly suited for testing compounds targeting neuro-inflammation, neurodegenerative diseases or glioblastoma brain cancer. Neurix also provide multiple solutions for custom research & testing projects.

SARS-CoV-2 / Covid19 platform. Neurix provides targeted assays for the identification of the molecular targets & efficiency of drug compounds (viral entry, polymerase, ....). With the ex-vivo platform Neurix is the only CRO providing patient-based tests for prophylactic/preventive treatments. In addition, the spike neutralization assay can monitor the immune status of patients by measuring the SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing capacity of sera.

Custom in vitro assay platform. With an expertise both in cell- and organoid-based assay Neurix can provide customized solution to partners.

About University of Geneva
Our University is recognized today as one of the top 100 universities in the world and the second largest innovative player in Europe (Nature Index Innovation). We encourage interdisciplinarity both in teaching and research, which has garnered us worldwide recognition.