Axon aiming to seal J&J deal

Listed drug discovery instrumentation maker Axon Instruments is aggressively pursuing final-stage development of an ion channel drug discovery platform in collaboration with Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development (J&JPRD).

For Axon, the announcement concerning its PatchExpress 7000A ion channel patch clamp may reassure shareholders that the company is actively pushing into new products.

Axon founder and CEO Alan Finkel said the company was focusing strongly on screening products such as the PatchExpress. Financial terms were not revealed but under the agreement, the new Axon platform will be implemented in J&JPRD's ion channel drug discovery programs.

The automated system is designed to allow pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to rapidly screen libraries of thousands of compounds for ion channel activity. The company claims the platform will deliver high-content and high-quality data that will aid in the rapid and reliable identification of the compounds with potential for development as commercial drugs.

Finkel said Axon was aware of significant demand for this type of product and was working to an aggressive schedule for commercial delivery.

To reduce costs, Axon has sold off its microelectrode guidance systems business and relocated premises, according to Finkel. He attributed the company's poor performance to a slowing in the microarray genomics market plus the generally subdued business environment.

Axon, a former biotech sharemarket high-flyer with offices in California and Melbourne, recently unveiled weak annual results as it adjusts to the slowdown in the microarray genomics market.