Date: 2015-11-17
Type of information: Licensing agreement
Compound: FXR (farnesoid X receptor) agonist compounds
Company: Poxel (France) ENYO Pharma (France)
Therapeutic area: Infectious diseases
Type agreement: licensing
Action mechanism: farnesoid X receptor agonist. Farnesoid X receptor (FXR), also known as bile acid receptor, is a member of a nuclear receptor superfamily and has a role inmultiple metabolic pathways and especiallyin controlling the fate of bile acids in the liverand the intestine. It has also been reported to influence insulin sensitivity of these tissues where it is expressed at high levels. The Inserm team founder of ENYO has identified FXR as a direct regulator of hepatitis B virus replication and has shown the dependency of the virus life cycle on the bile acids pathway. Modulating FXR becomes therefore a promising new therapeutic avenue to control and potentially cure chronic hepatitis B which is one of the world leading causes of cirrhosis and liver cancer.
Disease: hepatitis B
Details: * On May 6, 2015, Poxel a biopharmaceutical company developing innovative drugs to treat type 2 diabetes, and ENYO Pharma, a newly-formed company focused on the treatment of acute and chronic viral infections, announced the signing of a license agreement under which ENYO will gain access to Poxel’s FXR (farnesoid X receptor) agonist compounds for infection-related indications with Poxel retaining rights for cardiovascular and metabolic indications among others. ENYO Pharma was founded in 2014 by four scientists from the International Center for Research in Infectiology, Inserm U1111 inLyon, France, and seeding partners (Inserm Transfert Initiative, ADV Life Sciences and Vonderscher & Co) followed earlier this year by Sofinnova Partners. ENYO Pharma is developing molecules targeting specific host functions for the treatment of acute and chronic viral infections. ENYO Pharma has licensed several Inserm patents issued from the discoveries of the founding scientists and developed a unique platform for the identification of intracellular therapeutic targets and molecules modulating them.
Financial terms: No financial terms of the agreement have been disclosed.
Latest news: * On November 17, 2015, -Poxel announced a second agreement with Enyo Pharma SA, by which Enyo accesses a key patent on the use of FXR technology to develop treatments for hepatitis B. The FXR Agonist technology was discovered and patented by Poxel together with academic partners represented by Inserm Transfert and the Lyon-based company Edelris. Inserm Transfert has been appointed to represent all parties in the patent agreement with Enyo. Enyo and Poxel signed a license agreement, which was announced May 6, 2015, on Poxel’s FXR Agonist program for infection-related indications. No financial terms of either agreement have been disclosed.
