Zenyth and Murigen to collaborate on new drug for inflammation
Australian companies Zenyth Therapeutics and MuriGen Therapeutics, have signed a collaboration agreement to co-develop a new class of drugs that target arthritis and other inflammatory diseases.
Australian companies Zenyth Therapeutics and MuriGen Therapeutics, have signed a collaboration agreement to co-develop a new class of drugs that target arthritis and other inflammatory diseases.
The collaboration will aim to develop therapeutic proteins that inhibit the activity of the cytokine granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF), or its receptor. G-CSF regulates the production of key inflammatory cells and scientists at Melbourne's Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI) have recently demonstrated that blocking GCSF activity can have a profound impact on the development of inflammatory disease in animal models. Treatment was effective even once disease was established and compared very favourably with blockade of the cytokine TNF, the target of current highly successful treatments.
These results are the subject of a recent patent application by WEHI, and that patent has been exclusively licensed to MuriGen; a WEHI start-up company.
Dr Andrew Nash, Zenyth's ceo, noted that the project would benefit from Zenyth's capacity to generate therapeutic antibodies, including through the recently announced agreement with Dyax Corporation. 'These targets are well suited to antibody-based therapies and application of the Dyax phage display antibody libraries will be a key aspect of the research programme' said Dr Nash.
Under the agreement Zenyth and MuriGen will jointly fund research and development of the potential drug on a cost sharing basis through to completion of proof-of-concept in human clinical trials.