Tillotts Pharma, part of the Japanese Zeria Group, and LabGenius have entered into a discovery agreement to identify and develop new drug candidates for the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs).
IBDs, such as ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD), comprise a group of conditions whereby the body’s own immune system attacks parts of the gastrointestinal tract.
Immune response regulation has a crucial role in controlling the intestinal inflammation and the symptoms of IBD as demonstrated by the clinical efficacy of anti-TNF therapies, the first biologics approved for UC and CD.
“Our agreement with LabGenius underscores our commitment to develop innovative therapies for the millions of patients suffering from IBD,” said Thomas A. Tóth von Kiskér, CEO at Tillotts Pharma AG.
“Moreover, it supports our strategy to strengthen our portfolio and R&D pipeline. We are doing this by further expanding into biotechnology and adding new developmet projects to TP10, our most advanced biologic programme for IBD and other inflammations.”
Under the terms of the agreement, LabGenius will work during the course of the next two years towards the discovery of novel drugs using its artificial intelligence (AI)-driven evolution engine for the discovery of high-value proteins.
LabGenius will generate molecules and, together with Tillotts, will identify the lead candidates for future development and commercialisation by Tillotts.
”We are excited to apply our AI-driven technology to the development of novel drug candidates for IBD and support Tillotts in the development of new products that could potentially bring benefits to patients in need,” said James Field, CEO and founder of LabGenius.