Almac Discovery, which develops treatments for cancer, has signed a deal with a US-based pharmaceutical company to license and further develop a new class of drug molecules to fight the disease.
The new class of drug molecules blocks the activity of an important cancer pathway which has been a focus of biotech and pharmaceutical companies for over a decade, and which is believed to play a key role in tumour development.
Despite the significant interest within the industry, the development of molecules which block the pathway has so far proven extremely difficult, so the identification of potent, drug-like molecules by Almac Discovery represents a major breakthrough for the field, and has the potential to advance the standard of care for people with cancer.
Under the terms of the agreement between Almac Discovery and Genentech, the Craigavon-based company will receive an upfront payment of $14.5m and be eligible to receive up to $349m in milestone payments plus tiered royalties on potential commercial sales of multiple products by Genentech.
Almac Discovery’s novel, potent and selective small molecule inhibitors will be the starting point for a two-year joint research programme funded by the California-based Genentech.
Genentech will be responsible for all pre-clinical and clinical development and commercialisation of products arising from the collaboration.
Tim Harrison, vice president of Drug Discovery at Almac Discovery, commented: “Inhibitors of ubiquitin specific proteases have been a highly sought after, yet elusive drug class, proving difficult to identify despite significant efforts from both pharmaceutical and biotech companies.
“Ubiquitin specific proteases have been shown to play an important role in a number of key cancer-causing pathways, and the identification of potent, selective inhibitors provides an exciting opportunity to fully exploit this novel biology, as well as further demonstrating the chemical tractability of this important target class.”
Commenting on the deal Stephen Barr, president Almac Discovery, added: “We are delighted to enter into this partnership with Genentech, a like-minded research driven organisation.
“Genentech is an undoubted leader in oncology development and this, coupled with their in-depth knowledge in the USP area, is the perfect complement for us.
“We feel extremely confident that Genentech is the best partner to expedite the translation of our medicinal chemistry and biology efforts into the clinic.”