Generian Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a preclinical biopharmaceutical company discovering and developing first-in-class orally bioavailable small molecule therapeutics, announced today that it has achieved the first research milestones for two programs in development under its collaboration agreement with Mitobridge, Inc. (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Astellas Pharma Inc.).
The two programs that Generian is advancing are focused on the stabilization or degradation of two unrelated transcription factors. The milestone payments were generated based on the successful identification of hit compounds that impact the stability and activity of these two transcription factors. The small molecule hit series were identified through the use of a proprietary drug discovery platform and validated as target protein stabilizers or degraders in biologically relevant functional assays.
“We are extremely pleased with the rapid and remarkable progress made with our partners at Astellas on these two programs,” said Hank Safferstein, PhD, JD, Chief Executive Officer of Generian. “These hit series represent first-in-class compounds that directly bind to transcription factors for degradation or stabilization. We look forward to continuing our productive collaboration and leveraging our combined expertise and knowledge to develop and advance small molecule therapeutics for difficult to drug targets.”
“As a company focused on developing innovative treatments for patients around the world, we are extremely pleased that Generian achieved their first program milestones,” said David Barrett, Ph.D., Division Head and President of Mitobridge. “We continue to be very excited about, and value, our ongoing collaboration with them.”
In June 2022, Generian and Astellas entered into a collaboration and exclusive license agreement to identify novel small molecules that modulate target proteins through activation, stabilization or degradation as potential development candidates. Generian is eligible to receive additional milestone payments of approximately $180 million in addition to royalties on any global net sales.
