12 Jun 2017 07:01
Arix Bioscience notes Artios Pharma's new collaboration to develop inhibitors of novel cancer targets
LONDON, 12 June, 2017: Arix Bioscience plc (LSE: ARIX) ("Arix Bioscience" or the "Company"), a global healthcare and life science company supporting medical innovation, is pleased to note the announcement by Artios Pharma Ltd, an Arix Bioscience Group Business, that it has signed a research collaboration and option agreement with Masaryk University ("MU") in the Czech Republic for the development of novel cancer treatments targeting DNA nucleases involved in the DNA damage response (DDR).
DNA nucleases are enzymes crucial for processing strands of DNA following damage. Artios believes that nuclease inhibitors could have broad potential as selective treatments for a range of cancers, particularly in tumours that have defects in their DNA repair processes and are reliant on their remaining, nuclease-dependent DDR pathways.
The research at MU is being led by Dr Lumir Krejci and Dr Kamil Paruch, both of whom have considerable scientific expertise in the field of DDR, particularly with regards to the role of nucleases in DNA double strand break repair and other DNA repair pathways, as well as valuable industry experience in medicinal chemistry and drug development of nuclease targets.
Under the terms of the agreement, Artios will fund and collaborate with the research group at MU to undertake a focussed research and development programme on a number of promising nuclease targets. The agreement, which runs initially for two years and can be extended for up to a further two years, provides Artios with the opportunity to in-license one or more nuclease programmes for further development and commercialisation.
For more information, please contact:
Arix Bioscience plc
Joe Anderson, CEO
+44 (0) 20 7290 1052
Consilium Strategic Communications
Mary-Jane Elliott, Jessica Hodgson, Ivar Milligan
+44 (0)20 3709 5700
arix@consilium-comms.com
About Arix Bioscience plc
Arix Bioscience plc is a global healthcare and life science company supporting medical innovation. Headquartered in London and with an office in New York, Arix Bioscience sources, finances and builds world class healthcare and life science businesses addressing medical innovation at all stages of development. Operations are supported by privileged access to breakthrough academic science and strategic relationships with leading research accelerators and global pharmaceutical companies.
Arix Bioscience plc is listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange.
For further information, please visit www.arixbioscience.com
About Artios Pharma Ltd.
Artios is a leading DNA Damage Response (DDR) company focused on developing first-in-class treatments for cancer. Established in May 2016, the Company is led by an experienced scientific and leadership team with proven expertise in DDR drug discovery. Artios is building a pipeline of next-generation DDR programmes, including through a unique partnership with Cancer Research Technology (CRT), the development and commercialisation arm of Cancer Research UK (CRUK), and with leading DNA repair researchers worldwide. The Company's investors include SV Health Investors, Merck Ventures, Touchstone Innovations, Arix Bioscience plc, CRT Pioneer Fund (managed by Sixth Element Capital), and AbbVie Ventures. Artios is based at the Babraham Research Campus in Cambridge, UK.