Partnership Forms for First-in-Class Therapies for Autoimmune Diseases and Immuno-Oncology

Pathios Therapeutics (a drug discovery and development company) and Sygnature Discovery (an integrated drug discovery and pre-clinical services company) have signed a strategic and innovative partnership agreement aimed at accelerating Pathios’ drug discovery and development programs.

Under the terms of the agreement, the companies will collaborate on an integrated drug discovery program specifically targeting a novel G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR). Sygnature will provide expertise in GPCR bioscience and medicinal chemistry, which will be used to expand Pathios’ current hit-to-lead program. Further to expertise, Sygnature will deploy its computational chemistry, library design and synthesis, and medium throughput screening capability to increase Pathios’ hit finding.

“We founded Pathios to build on emerging science that demonstrated GPR65 sits at the nexus of autoimmune disease and immuno-oncology as this receptor links pathology caused by a low pH environment,” commented Tom McCarthy, executive chairman and co-founder of Pathios Therapeutics in a Feb. 6, 2019 press release. “The ultimate aim is to block the pathological process that GPR65 initiates without interfering with the physiological role of this receptor. In addition to developing potent and selective drugs to modulate GPR65, we are continuing to broaden the understanding of the fundamental biological processes that link to GPR65’s effects in Th17 cells, TAMs and other cell types.”

Simon Hirst, CEO of Sygnature, added: "We are extremely pleased to take this exceptional opportunity to partner with, and invest in Pathios on their drug discovery projects. Based on our diligence activities, we are excited about the potential for GPR65 modulation to be central to new treatments for autoimmune disease and a critical mechanism of action in next generation immuno-oncology drugs targeting the tumour micro-environment.”

Pathios is working on modulating the activity of GPR65, a pH sensing GPCR, which has been demonstrated to contribute to the pathology of autoimmune conditions, such as alkylosing spondylitis and psoriatic arthritis. Additionally, GPR65 has been demonstrated to drive tumour associated macrophages to adopt a phenotype that supports cancer immune evasion.

Source: Pathios Therapeutics