Scientists at the University of Ulster are teaming up with Sanofi, one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies, to research potential new drugs for the treatment of conditions like Alzheimer’s disease.

Innovation Ulster Ltd, the designated technology transfer company of the University of Ulster, has signed a Research Collaboration and License Agreement with Sanofi (EURONEXT: SAN and NYSE: SNY) to develop therapeutics in neurodegenerative diseases.

Under the agreement, scientists at the University will assess the activity of an early stage compound in Alzheimer’s disease animal models and generate new data to evaluate its neuroprotective or neurodegenerative activity.

Tim Brundle, Director of Innovation at Ulster, said: “We are very excited about this recent development and see this as a tremendous opportunity for the University.

“Such innovative collaborations between academia and industry foster an open model of interaction that help further clinical research and development.”

The University of Ulster is a dynamic and innovative research and learning institute based in Northern Ireland and hosts one of the UK’s leading research institutes in biomedical sciences with an international reputation for excellence.

The Biomedical Science Research Institute (BMSRI), based in Coleraine, is one of 15 University Research Institutes at Ulster and ranked second in the UK in the last national Research Assessment Exercise in 2008.

The BMSRI has been conducting pioneering research to investigate the underlying causes, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of human degenerative diseases.