Arix Bioscience said Wednesday that its portfolio company Artios Pharma Ltd, has entered in-licensing agreement of a small-molecule ATR inhibitor programme from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and ShangPharma.
Jonathan Tobin, Ph.D., Investment Director of Arix and Artios board member, commented:
“As early investors in Artios, we are pleased to see its pipeline continue to grow and mature. The addition of the ATR inhibitor expands the company’s portfolio of assets, which also includes its first-in-class Pol Theta candidate, currently in IND evaluation, and a large pipeline of novel nuclease targets. This deal, coupled with Artios’ significant expertise in this field, reinforces its position as the world leader in this exciting new space in oncology.”
“This programme has the potential to be a highly effective DNA damage response (DDR) targeted treatment in cancer. We look forward to advancing the work done by MD Anderson and ShangPharma for the benefit of cancer patients,” said Dr. Niall Martin, Chief Executive Officer at Artios Pharma. “The addition of the ATR programme further supports our position as a leader in the DDR space and strengthens our growing portfolio of assets, which includes a leading Polθ programme, currently in candidate IND evaluation, and a large discovery stage platform of novel DNA repair nuclease inhibitors.”