The companies will use proprietary technology to enable the discovery of peptide-radioisotope conjugates
Ariceum Therapeutics and UCB have announced a research partnership agreement to establish and develop novel systemic targeted radiopharmaceuticals for the treatment of solid tumours and immune-related diseases.
An essential part of the collaboration will involve the companies utilising each other’s proprietary technology platforms to enable the discovery of peptide-radioisotope conjugates as treatments for a variety of cancers and immune-related diseases.
In addition, Ariceum will gain access to UCB’s experience in order to identify novel synthetic macrocyclic peptides by incorporating its mRNA-display technology platform, ExtremeDiversity.
Similarly, UCB will benefit from Ariceum’s expertise in the areas of radiochemistry and labelling technology, thereby enhancing its ability to study how this type of technology could lead to the discovery of differentiated products for immune-related diseases. Indeed, the agreement means that each company will have the opportunity to explore multiple targets.
Dhaval Patel, chief scientific officer at UCB, was encouraged the partnership: “The collaboration with Ariceum further enhances our strategic drug discovery capabilities and provides UCB with the opportunity to learn and explore the potential of this modality in our drive to continuously innovate. We look forward to working with Ariceum’s scientists and are eager to leverage the technology platforms and disease expertise at each company.”
Manfred Rüdiger, chief executive officer of Ariceum Therapeutics, reflected: “We are excited about this strategic collaboration between UCB and Ariceum which aims to broaden Ariceum’s pipeline with potentially several new programmes at discovery stage.”
He added: “Through this partnership, Ariceum will have access to a unique library that will be used to screen against targets of interest for oncology for which current targeted approaches have failed, while working with UCB on enabling targeted systemic radiotherapy approaches in other areas of severe diseases.”
by John Pinching
Source: pharmatimes.com
Novartis will acquire Mariana’s lead candidate MC-339, a radioligand therapy (RLT) designed to target small-cell lung cancer. Last year, Mariana had raised $175m in a Series B round from several funds and pharma giant Eli Lilly.
The company’s aspiration to expand the use of its obesity products to cardiovascular indications has been successful. In March, its blockbuster drug Wegovy was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases in obese or overweight adults.
Massachusetts-based Deciphera brings to the table an extensive kinase inhibitor pipeline, kinase drug discovery expertise, and a strong commercial and sales platform in the US and European markets that is meant to advance Ono’s capabilities and presence in the oncology space.
