Some proteins have known roles in cancer development and growth, but drugs remain elusive. AstraZeneca is betting Scorpion Therapeutics can design molecules that can hit such ‘untreatable’ targets, and the pharma giant is Pay $75 million Start a new collaboration.
The consortium will focus on transcription factors, a class of proteins that control gene expression and regulate cellular processes critical to cancer cell growth and survival. Transcription factors covered by the deal were not disclosed. But under terms announced Thursday, Boston-based Scorpion will lead discovery efforts and certain preclinical activities. AstraZeneca has an exclusive option to grant global rights to up to three drug candidates from the study.
If the pharma giant exercises options on any molecules, it will be responsible for their further development and commercialization if approved. The agreement gives Scorpion the option to co-develop and co-promote two of the three drugs. This option applies even if AstraZeneca executes all three options on the drug candidate. Option premiums and installments could add $1.5 billion to Scorpion. If AstraZeneca commercializes the partner’s drugs, it will also owe Scorpion royalties for selling those products.
Scorpion was co-founded in 2020 by serial biotech entrepreneur Gary Glick.The company kept a low profile until about a year ago, when it Disclosed $162M Series B round, bringing its total since inception to $270MThe biotech company designs new small molecules for undruggable targets using a platform that combines techniques from medicinal chemistry, computational chemistry, cancer biology and data science.
To date, the Scorpion platform has resulted in two public programs, both in preclinical development. One target is a mutated version of a protein called PI3Kα. While there are approved therapies for this goal, they also affect the normal version of the protein in healthy tissue, causing side effects. Scorpion says its technology has discovered a new binding pocket, particularly in mutated forms of the protein.
Another public Scorpion program is in development to treat non-small cell lung cancer tumors characterized by mutations in exon 20 of the signaling protein EGFR.This genetic trait is currently addressed by Johnson & Johnson drugs and Takeda Pharmaceuticals, both approved last yearBut Scorpion believes that currently available drugs targeting this mutation also have an effect on the normal EGFR protein, leading to toxic effects.
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