Melior Discovery
Leading The Way With in Vivo Phenotypic Screening and Drug Repositioning

Melior Discovery is a CRO, wholly dedicated to preclinical in vivo pharmacology, and a leader in pharmaceutical drug repositioning with its unique theraTRACE^® platform comprising multiplexed in vivo disease models. The firm leverages its world class in vivo pharmacology expertise to help pharmaceutical and biotech firms advance their drug development pipeline, accelerating the time to market, and contributing to the likelihood of commercial success. Its unwavering commitment to delivering bespoke solutions and exceptional service positions Melior as a trusted and reliable partner for businesses seeking to navigate the complex world of drug discovery and development.

Melior Discovery serves its clients by conducting thousands of studies and evaluating high-quality, efficient, and cost-effective services.

Its founding mission is in vivo phenotypic screening, which involves identifying new therapeutic uses for existing drugs or drug candidates previously deemed ineffective in clinical trials. This unique approach sets Melior apart from competitors and has established it as a leader in the field of drug repositioning.

In the “Picks and Shovels” Business

The goal for biotech and pharmaceutical companies, to discover cures for diseases, is like prospecting for gold—a high-risk/ high reward endeavor. By comparison, Melior’s president and CEO, Andrew Reaume, views Melior’s role in this setting as being in the “picks and shovels” business, referencing the way that Levi Strauss famously got his start by selling picks and shovels to prospectors during the California gold rush in the late 1800’s.

During its initial 15 years of operation, Melior’s business strategy involved a balance of in-house research and development aimed at discovering and developing proprietary drug candidates, as well as providing services to external clients. However, with the growing independence of its pharma spin-off companies (Melior Pharmaceuticals I, Inc. and Melior Pharmaceuticals II, LLC), and a renewed appreciation for the benefits of the “picks and shovels” business approach, Melior has shifted its focus toward expanding its services.

“It’s true that we are a ‘picks and shovels’ provider in the prospecting for new therapeutics, but we view ours as a critical mission, providing crucial preclinical proof-of-concept information that warrants whether or not a company has a candidate worthy of taking on additional investment and bringing to human subjects,” says Andrew Reaume, president and CEO of Melior Discovery.

Melior’s success can partly be attributed to its understanding of the risks and challenges involved in pharmaceutical drug discovery. Demonstrating a drug’s effectiveness in an animal model of human disease marks an inflection point in the drug discovery program’s value. Bringing exceptional quality to in vivo pharmacology studies is imperative to this important milestone and highlights Melior Discovery’s core strength.

Melior has pioneered a highthroughput in vivo pharmacology platform, theraTRACE^®, to systematically identify novel indications for preclinical and development-stage drugs.

Reaume believes that the significant achievement of developing this platform is a testimony to the dedication and expertise of Melior scientists and their command of in vivo pharmacology.

As a world-class provider of in vivo pharmacology services, Melior evaluates candidate therapeutics in animal models of human diseases, providing the strongest evidence that they will be effective before they advance into clinical trials. Towards this end, Melior has established and validated well over 100 animal models in a broad array of therapeutic areas, including inflammation, metabolic disease, CNS, oncology, dermatology, and others.

theraTRACE^®: The Ideal Platform for Drug Repositioning

The pharmaceutical industry is predicated on the market exclusivity provided by patents and data exclusivity, which in turn provide for drug pricing that help fund the substantial R&D costs associated with developing new, innovative and increasingly effective therapeutics. The success of the industry relies heavily on the ongoing discovery of novel and patented therapeutic agents. Still, the long timelines and high attrition rates associated with bringing a drug to market increasingly cannot always be offset with realistic pricing opportunities, adding to the rising challenges in the pharmaceutical business model. Drug repositioning has emerged as a strategy to fill this “innovation gap”, as it has been coined, in the pharmaceutical industry.

To this end, Melior has built upon its expertise in multiplexing animal models of disease, which involves using a group of animals across multiple disease models without compromising data quality. The theraTRACE^® platform is Melior’s phenotypic screening tool for drug repositioning, repurposing, and indications discovery. It is widely used by multinational pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical startups to explore the complete therapeutic potential of their drug candidates. “Our platform includes a diverse range of animal models that span an array of therapeutic areas. This allows us to take repositioning candidates and test them across multiple disease models,” says Reaume.

An Integrative Approach for Clients

The costs and risks associated with pharmaceutical drug discovery and development are unparalleled in any other industry. Choosing a trusted service provider is an essential in this high-stakes endeavor. Melior facilitates a client-centric environment by responding quickly and providing a bespoke experience. The company has worked with industry leading multinational firms such as Pfizer, Merck, AstraZeneca, and Johnson & Johnson, along with hundreds of biopharmaceutical clients.

Our platform includes a diverse range of animal models that span an array of therapeutic areas. This allows us to take repositioning candidates and test them across multiple disease models

Its scientists specialize in neuroscience, metabolic disease, oncology, and inflammatory diseases. Many of Melior’s staff bring years of experience from having themselves worked in some of the industry’s leading multinational pharmaceutical companies and participating in therapeutic programs that progressed to advanced clinical stage.

“Hiring people with the listed skills on their resume is not enough. There is more to building a team than that.

Our team comprises people who work cohesively, support each other, and progress together,” adds Reaume.

While engaging with clients, a dedicated client specialist at Melior Discovery is assigned to ascertain their individual requirements. Through close consultation, the specialist gains a clear understanding of their objectives and guarantees the successful execution of the project, meeting or exceeding client expectations.

The best examples come in scenarios where Melior addressed some of the most pressing needs of a client. A case in point was an instance where Melior went above and beyond to accommodate a client’s unique request to transport and set up an experimental medical device. While this type of request may be uncommon, Melior Discovery worked with the client to ensure the process was seamless and successful.

The results of the successful collaborative studies were instrumental in attracting the interest of a large pharmaceutical company that purchased the medical device company. This demonstrates Melior Discovery’s expertise in providing effective solutions that generate impactful results for its clients, and is just one of the many successes it has scripted over the years.

“We try to, as quickly as possible, establish a scientist-toscientist connection to ensure prompt comprehension of the study requirements while considering the budgetary and time constraints,” adds Reaume.

In another case, a large pharmaceutical company working in the migraine space is sending their scientists to Melior Discovery, as the client is establishing a novel model around migraine as part of a larger program. It is an interactive engagement, including hands-on visitation and collaboration with Melior’s scientists. In Reaume’s view, the selection of Melior for this type of a larger and ongoing initiative was made, in part, because of Melior’s flexible and collaborative working environment.

A flat organizational structure and employee-centric culture are hallmarks of Melior’s success. It strives towards a flexible work structure, where employees are empowered to “think on their feet” and make decisions that they might not be able to make in a more traditional organization. To achieve this, Melior strongly emphasizes cultivating a positive workplace culture. In the last few years, it has grown at double-digit rates, hiring more people aligned with its cultural aspects. Management takes immense pride in being awarded the Great Place To Work certification, which acknowledges employers that provide an exceptional employee experience. What sets Melior Discovery apart is that 93 percent of its employees believe it is a great place to work, a stark contrast to the industry average of 57 percent for U.S.-based companies.

Melior Discovery, with its extensive expertise in a wide range of therapeutic areas, is poised to expand in multiple directions, including human resources, facilities, and workload.