CHENGDU, China–(BUSINESS WIRE)–HitGen Inc. announced today that HitGen Inc. and Kaken Pharmaceutical
Co., Ltd. have entered into a license agreement to develop a novel class
of drugs. The licensed compounds were identified using HitGen’s leading
technology platform, which involved screening large DNA encoded
libraries, containing over 400 billion of small molecules with drug-like
properties synthesized on chemically diverse scaffolds. A number of
novel small molecule leads for an undisclosed target nominated by Kaken
were the subject of this license agreement.
Under the terms of collaborative agreement, HitGen will grant exclusive
rights to Kaken for further development and commercialization, and be
eligible for preclinical and clinical milestone payments from Kaken as
the project progresses, in addition to upfront license fee.
“We are delighted to announce this significant project milestone. The
success of delivery of these licensed compounds has further demonstrated
the power of our DEL platform to discover novel small molecules against
a variety of targets, including those previously challenging ones. We
look forward to seeing the progress made by Kaken” said Dr. Jin Li,
Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of HitGen.
About Kaken
Kaken (Tokyo Stock Exchange: 4521) is a specialty pharmaceutical company
in Japan with strong experience in developing and commercializing novel
pharmaceuticals and medical devices in the fields of orthopedics,
dermatology and surgery. Kaken concentrates its R&D resources in
inflammation/immunology (dermatitis, rheumatoid arthritis and
osteoarthritis), pain relief and fungal infection areas.
For more information, please visit http://www.kaken.co.jp/english/
About HitGen Inc.
HitGen is a rapidly growing biotech company with headquarter and main
research facility based in Chengdu, China and with a subsidiary in the
USA. HitGen has established a platform for small molecule drug discovery
research centred on the design, synthesis and screening of DNA encoded
chemical libraries (DELs). HitGen’s DELs contain over 400 billion novel,
diverse, drug-like small molecule and macrocyclic compounds. These
compounds are members of DELs synthesised from many hundreds of distinct
chemical scaffolds, designed with tractable chemistry, and yielded
proven results for the discovery of small molecule leads against
precedented and unprecedented classes of biological targets. HitGen is
collaborating with pharmaceutical, biotech, and chemical companies,
foundations and research institutes in North America, Europe, Asia and
Africa to discover and develop approaches for novel medicines and other
solutions.
For more information, please visit www.hitgen.com.
Contacts
Dr. Jin Li, Chairman & CEO
HitGen Inc.
Tel: +86 28
85197385 (8001)