Date: 2017-03-21
Type of information: Development agreement
Compound: small molecules
Company: X-Chem (USA - MA) Ono Pharmaceutical (Japan)
Therapeutic area: Cancer - Oncology
Type agreement: development commercialisation
Action mechanism: DEX™ is a DNA-encoded library and platform. The X-Chem drug discovery engine is based on a library, currently in excess of 120 billion compounds generated by iterative combinatorial synthesis of small molecules tethered to DNA tags that record the synthetic history of the small molecule. Every small molecule in the library has a unique DNA barcode attached it. The library is screened as a mixture using affinity-based binding to a target of interest. Certain rare molecules in the library that bind to the target can be “fished out,” while the rest of the molecules are washed away. DNA sequencing methods are then used to detect molecules that are enriched when bound to the target. The diverse nature of the library produces multiple families or clusters of related molecules that bind to the target, forming a basis for emergent structure-activity relationships. Structure-activity relationships are typically used by medicinal chemists to guide iterative chemical maturation of a molecule into a drug. Based on the synthetic history encoded in the DNA sequence information, molecules are then made without the DNA tag attached, and tested for activity in conventional assays.
Disease:
Details: * On March 21, 2017, X-Chem, a privately held biotechnology company applying its innovative drug discovery platform to the generation of novel small molecule therapeutics,announced a partnership with Ono Pharmaceutical. Under the terms of the agreement X-Chem will apply its proprietary DEX™ libraries, which contain over 120 billion small molecules, toward the discovery of new drug leads against multiple promising, high-impact oncology targets. Ono will have the option to license identified lead compounds and will be responsible for further development and commercialization of any resulting programs.
Financial terms: X-Chem receives an upfront payment, research and licensing fees, and is eligible for additional payments linked to the successful achievement of pre-clinical and clinical development markers, as well as regulatory milestones, in addition to royalties on sales of products originating from the collaboration. No further financial terms will be disclosed.
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