Biopharmaceutical Partners Seek Alternatives to Glucocorticoid Steroid Drugs

Collaboration between American and Japanese biopharmaceutical companies is expected to lead to the development of a new class of small molecule drugs for treatment of hematological and inflammatory diseases.

Gencia LLC (Charlottesville, VA, USA) and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd. (Osaka, Japan) announced the formation of a partnership to develop a class of drugs called mitochondrial agonists of the glucocorticoid receptor (MAGR). These compounds offer the therapeutic potential of conventional glucocorticoid steroids but are chemically distinct and function differently than steroids.

The initial aim of the collaboration will be joint research and development leading to two preclinical drug candidates, one each in the areas of inflammation and oncology. Takeda will establish parameters for conducting clinical trials for drug candidates identified by the partnership. Gencia will receive upfront payments from Takeda as well as preclinical milestones for the two initial compounds and aggregate clinical, commercialization, and sales milestones worth up to approximately 500 million USD. Gencia also will receive royalties on sales of any successfully commercialized products arising from the partnership.

“This collaboration and license agreement with Takeda marks an important milestone in the growth and development of our company,” said Allen Cunningham, president and CEO of Gencia. “Takeda’s strength in drug discovery and development, and in particular their commitment to oncology and inflammation drug research, provides Gencia with the opportunity to advance our mitochondrial targeting platform and MAGR compounds into the clinic, and ultimately to patients in need of these therapies. We are very pleased to have Takeda as our partner in this endeavor.”

Dr. Tetsuyuki Maruyama, head of the pharmaceutical research division at Takeda, said, “We are delighted to partner with Gencia to create new medicines designed to be chemically and functionally different from steroids, but that may still be effective in treating a broad spectrum of diseases for which chronic steroids are currently prescribed. We expect to change the paradigm for how patients are treated by potentially avoiding the issues that result from long-term steroid use.”

Related Links:
Gencia LLC
Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd.