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Centogene, Molecular Health Sign Collaboration to Improve Orphan Drug Development

NEW YORK – Centogene and Molecular Health said on Monday that they have signed an exclusive collaboration deal to help develop new orphan drugs, starting with epilepsy as the first indication.

Under the agreement, the firms will combine real-life data sets in rare diseases from Centogene with Molecular Health's expertise in big data, artificial intelligence, and computational algorithms in a project called Real-life data and Innovative Bioinformatic Algorithms (RIBA).

RIBA aims to foster a new precision medicine environment to accelerate, de-risk, and improve the development of new orphan drugs.

Financial details of the collaboration were not disclosed.

"Both companies have been analyzing the potential interaction for an extended period of time and are deeply convinced that now is the right time to start an exclusive cooperation focusing on rare genetic diseases," said Arndt Rolfs, CEO of Rostock, Germany-based Centogene, in a statement.

"The combination of both companies’ data and expertise will ultimately transform modern drug development and therapy. It will allow for the development of better drugs with higher specificity and safety, lower attrition rates in clinical studies, and a faster time to market to help patients with severe diseases worldwide through novel therapies," added Friedrich von Bohlen, CEO of Heidelberg, Germany-based Molecular Health.

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