PHARMA TECH
PRNewswire | May 17, 2023
Sony Corporation and Astellas Pharma Inc. announced that they have entered into a collaborative research agreement to discover a novel Antibody-Drug Conjugate (ADC) platform in oncology based on Sony's unique polymeric material, "KIRAVIA™*2 Backbone." ADC is expected to selectively deliver anti-cancer drugs to target cells, thereby increasing efficacy and reducing side effects caused by anti-cancer drugs attacking normal cells. The technology to create linkers which conjugates antibodies and drugs, is considered to be a key to development of a better-performing ADC. This collaborative research leverages the flexibility in design and resulting properties such as high capacity and solubility of KIRAVIA Backbone as a linker of ADC, to effectively deliver anti-cancer drugs to targeted cells in a stable manner, aiming to further enhance therapeutic efficacy by achieving high Drug-to-Antibody Ratio (DAR) etc.
The two companies jointly began exploratory research of new linker technology aimed at creating a new ADC platform in July 2022, and the expected profile was obtained in feasibility studies using human cancer cells. Under this agreement, Sony and Astellas will jointly develop and optimize a new ADC platform using the KIRAVIA Backbone as a linker. In addition, Astellas will conduct non-clinical trials of development candidates. Furthermore, in order to build a drug discovery platform not limited to ADC, the two companies have agreed to continue discussions on expanding research partnerships to create new value by combining Sony's cutting-edge technology with Astellas' renowned pharmaceutical capabilities.
"Sony's life science business has accumulated substantial knowledge in the field of cell analysis," said Katsunori Ogawa, Head of Life Science & Technology Business Unit at Sony Corporation. "Through this collaboration, Sony is striving to contribute to the medical and drug discovery fields and provide further social value by leveraging Sony's technological capabilities in the development of anti-cancer drugs therapy, which are expected to grow."
"We are pleased to enter into a joint research agreement with Sony," said Yoshitsugu Shitaka, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer (CScO), Astellas Pharma Inc. "Astellas is working to create innovative drugs from a multifaceted perspective called the Focus Area approach*4, which identifies combinations of biology, therapeutic modality or technology and diseases with high unmet medical needs. The partnership will further strengthen our ability to utilize suitable modalities. It is our expectation that the collaboration will lead to the continuous creation of innovative drugs for patients around the world."
ADC is a modality that combines an antibody and a small molecule such as an anti-cancer drug via a linker. It is expected to selectively deliver anti-cancer drugs to target cells, thereby reducing side effects caused by anti-cancer drugs attacking normal cells.
KIRAVIA™ and KIRAVIA Dyes™ are registered trademarks or trademarks of Sony Group Inc. or its affiliates.
KIRAVIA Backbone is created using the organic polymer technology cultivated in KIRAVIA Dyes™, which Sony independently developed and licensed to reagent manufacturers. It features a high degree of freedom in design, as the three-dimensional structure is programmed and polymerized using an automatic synthesizer. While increasing the number of drugs to be added and cleaving by reacting with intracellular enzymes. Synthesis of linkers with functional properties and selective drug release is expected.
About Astellas
Astellas Pharma Inc.is a pharmaceutical company conducting business in more than 70 countries around the world. We are promoting the Focus Area Approach that is designed to identify opportunities for the continuous creation of new drugs to address diseases with high unmet medical needs by focusing on Biology and Modality. Furthermore, we are also looking beyond our foundational Rx focus to create Rx+® healthcare solutions that combine our expertise and knowledge with cutting-edge technology in different fields of external partners. Through these efforts, Astellas stands on the forefront of healthcare change to turn innovative science into VALUE for patients.
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BUSINESS INSIGHTS, PHARMACY MARKET
Globenewswire | March 30, 2023
Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. a pharmaceutical company advancing medicines to solve patients’ problems with current standards of care and provide transformative products to improve their lives, today announced it has expanded its exclusive license and supply agreement with Atnahs Pharma UK Limited (“Pharmanovia”), a global pharmaceutical company that revitalizes, extends and expands the lifecycle of established medicines, for Libervant™ Buccal Film to cover the rest of the world, excluding the United States, Canada, and China. The original licensing agreement with Pharmanovia announced in September 2022 covered the European Union, United Kingdom, Sweden, Switzerland, and Norway, as well as countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
“We are pleased to announce the expansion of our collaboration with Pharmanovia,” said Daniel Barber, Chief Executive Officer of Aquestive. “We believe Pharmanovia’s experience and geographic footprint align well with our goal of providing patients throughout the world with access to Libervant. This announcement also aligns with our mission to put the patient at the center of everything we do. We will continue to advocate for patient access, patient choice, and patient empowerment on a global basis.”
Pharmanovia CEO, James Burt, commented, “Following a strong start to our collaboration with Aquestive Therapeutics, we’ve expanded our agreement to include many more territories. Our experience with diazepam marketed under an established brand in Valium®, combined with Aquestive Therapeutics’ unique PharmFilm® technology, provides a potentially significant delivery option to caregivers and patients in times of critical need and enables us to optimize an existing medicine to better meet the needs of patients, healthcare professionals and payors.”
Pursuant to the expanded agreement, Aquestive Therapeutics will serve as the exclusive sole manufacturer and supplier for the product and Pharmanovia will be responsible for all regulatory and commercialization activities. Aquestive will receive an undisclosed upfront payment and, if approved for market access, milestone payments, and double-digit royalties on net sales of the diazepam buccal film in the licensed territories.
About Aquestive Therapeutics
Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. is a pharmaceutical company advancing medicines to solve patients’ problems with current standards of care and provide transformative products to improve their lives. We are developing orally administered products to deliver complex molecules, providing novel alternatives to invasive and inconvenient standard of care therapies. Aquestive has five commercialized products marketed by its licensees in the U.S. and around the world, and is the exclusive manufacturer of these licensed products. The Company also collaborates with pharmaceutical companies to bring new molecules to market using proprietary, best-in-class technologies, like PharmFilm®, and has proven drug development and commercialization capabilities. Aquestive is advancing a late-stage proprietary product pipeline focused on treating diseases of the central nervous system and an earlier stage pipeline for the treatment of severe allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis.
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BUSINESS INSIGHTS, PHARMACY MARKET
Prnewswire | April 25, 2023
On April 20, Patsnap, the world's leading SaaS provider for intelligence, announced the launch of its latest version of the intelligence platform, Synapse, available to visitors. This version includes advanced search functions for drugs and pharmaceutical organizations, now publicly accessible for the first time. Users can explore these features without prior registration, making searching easier and more accessible than ever before.
Synapse is an innovative Life Sciences Platform that uses AI technology to connect Drug Discovery information with Drug Development insights. This allows professionals in the pharmaceutical industry to make better-informed decisions throughout the entire innovation cycle. With a vast database of millions of free data points from over 150 jurisdictions, Synapse provides access to over 72,000 new drugs, 800,000 clinical trials, 6 million pharmaceutical patents, 62 million literature sources, 360,000 pharmaceutical organizations, and more. This wealth of information is available to users to aid them in their research and decision-making processes.
One of the key benefits of Synapse is its extensive database of drugs, particularly those in their preclinical or early developmental stages, which helps to mitigate potential risks for professionals in the pharmaceutical industry. "We want to ensure that we are only developing drugs that are efficiently managed, reducing the risks of failure at the later stages of development," said one of our key clients, the head of R&D. By having access to this valuable information, professionals can make more informed decisions and focus their efforts on drugs with a higher potential for success, ultimately saving time and resources.
Available on Synapse's website as a free solution, key features include
Drug Advanced Search:Quickly and accurately identify drugs based on specific criteria of interest. The search function covers global drug candidates and marketed drugs, and mines preclinical R&D intelligence in patents and literature to identify early competitive risks.
Clinical Progress:Screen clinical trials by drugs, institutions, targets (multi-target), indications, clinical trial phase, and other conditions. Synapse collates data from 18 registries, including CT.gov and WHO, giving users a global view of the clinical landscape.
Playbook: Access multiple data sets with a single search, including Due Diligence and Find Organizations. This feature provides comprehensive and visualized insights into the organization's R&D preferences, drug pipeline, investments, financing, and more.
Literature Search:With over 62 million literature records in the life sciences field, users can easily screen literature by drugs, targets, indications, authors, and other criteria. This feature allows for efficient and targeted research, saving time and increasing productivity.
About Patsnap
Founded in 2007, Patsnap is the company behind the world's leading AI-powered innovation intelligence platform. Patsnap provides global businesses with a connected, easy-to-use platform that helps them make better decisions in the innovation process. Customers are innovators across multiple industry sectors, including agriculture and chemicals, consumer goods, food and beverage, life sciences, automotive, oil and gas, professional services, aviation and aerospace, and education.
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