BUSINESS INSIGHTS
Iktos | June 22, 2022
Iktos, a company specialized in Artificial Intelligence for new drug design, announced a research collaboration with Zealand Pharma A/S a biotechnology company changing lives with innovative peptide-based medicines to co-develop generative and predictive AI technologies for peptide drug design.
Iktos’ AI technology, based on a comprehensive data-driven chemical structure generation technology, brings new insights into the drug discovery process. This technology automatically designs virtual novel molecules with all the characteristics of a successful drug molecule. Iktos has recently diversified its R&D efforts into the development of an AI technology for peptide-based therapeutics and has developed state-of-the-art generative and predictive models to facilitate design of novel peptide therapeutics with desired properties.
Zealand Pharma A/S has a track record of successfully inventing and developing novel peptide-based drugs. This success is based on the extensive experience in improving the therapeutic characteristics of peptides. Zealand Pharma has a keen interest in expanding its computational chemistry toolbox to include AI and machine learning based approaches for the design of novel therapeutic peptides.
Under the agreement, Zealand will contribute its expertise in peptide drug discovery to Iktos’ generative modelling technologies and expertise in machine learning and AI.
“We are very pleased to join forces with Zealand Pharma and leverage their deep know-how in peptide therapeutics with our state-of-the-art existing technology assets to peptide drug discovery. We look forward to working with Zealand’s experienced R&D team to build leading/state of the art peptide generative and predictive modelling technology in the field of peptides - a new area for Iktos.”
Yann Gaston-Mathé, President and CEO of Iktos
About IKTOS
Incorporated in October 2016, Iktos is a French start-up company specialized in the development of artificial intelligence solutions applied to chemical research, more specifically medicinal chemistry and new drug design. Iktos is developing a proprietary and innovative solution based on deep learning generative models, which enables, using existing data, to design molecules that are optimized in silico to meet all the success criteria of a small molecule discovery project. The use of Iktos technology enables major productivity gains in upstream pharmaceutical R&D. Iktos offers its technology both as professional services and as a SaaS software platform, Makya™. Iktos is also developing Spaya™, a synthesis planning software based upon Iktos’s proprietary AI technology for retrosynthesis. Iktos has recently diversified its R&D efforts into the development of an AI technology for peptide-based therapeutics and has developed state-of-the-art generative and predictive models to facilitate design of novel peptide therapeutics with desired properties.
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BUSINESS INSIGHTS
Fusion Pharmaceuticals Inc. | June 13, 2022
Fusion Pharmaceuticals Inc. a clinical-stage oncology company focused on developing next-generation radio pharmaceuticals as precision medicines, and Niowave, Inc., a manufacturer of medical radioisotopes from radium and uranium, today announced that the companies have entered into a collaboration and supply agreement for the development, production, and supply of actinium-225. Under the agreement, Fusion will invest up to $5 million in Niowave to further develop their technology to increase current production capacity of actinium-225, and in return Fusion will have guaranteed access to a pre-determined percentage of Niowave's capacity of the resulting actinium-225, as well as preferred access to any excess supply produced. As part of the agreement, Fusion will also have an option to invest in future production of actinium-225 to scale with Fusion's needs.
"As excitement for the tumor-killing potential of alpha-emitting radio pharmaceuticals increases, we intend to stay at the forefront of actinium development and supply to support our growing pipeline of targeted alpha therapies. We continue to prioritize manufacturing and access to actinium as a critical component of Fusion's platform, and our partnership with Niowave further strengthens and diversifies our supply chain as we advance multiple actinium-based radio pharmaceuticals in the clinic."
Fusion Chief Executive Officer John Valliant, Ph.D
"The Niowave team has worked hard to scale up our actinium-225 production to the millicurie level and this has allowed us to start working with oncology community partners," said Niowave Chief Executive Officer/Senior Scientist Terry Grimm, Ph.D. "We have been watching Fusion's progress in the development of their pipeline of targeted alpha therapies and we are very excited to partner with them on this journey."
Fusion is developing actinium-based TATs leveraging the potency and precision offered by alpha particles. Actinium-225 decay gives off four alpha emissions in relatively rapid succession, maximizing the damage to the DNA of tumor cells, with a 10-day half life that allows for central manufacturing and distribution of products to clinical sites in a ready-to-use form.
About Fusion
Fusion Pharmaceuticals is a clinical-stage oncology company focused on developing next-generation radiopharmaceuticals as precision medicines. Fusion connects alpha particle emitting isotopes to various targeting molecules in order to selectively deliver the alpha emitting payloads to tumors. Fusion's lead program, FPI-1434 targeting insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor, is currently in a Phase 1 clinical trial. The pipeline includes FPI-1966, targeting the fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3), advancing to a Phase 1 study following the investigational new drug (IND) clearance; and FPI-2059, a small molecule targeting neurotensin receptor 1 (NTSR1). In addition to a robust proprietary pipeline, Fusion has a collaboration with AstraZeneca to jointly develop novel targeted alpha therapies (TATs) and combination programs between Fusion's TATs and AstraZeneca's DNA Damage Repair Inhibitors (DDRis) and immuno-oncology agents. Fusion has also entered into a collaboration with Merck to evaluate FPI-1434 in combination with Merck's KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab) in patients with solid tumors expressing IGF-1R. Fusion and Hamilton, Ontario-based McMaster University are building a current Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) compliant radiopharmaceutical manufacturing facility designed to support manufacturing of the Company's growing pipeline of TATs.
About Niowave
Niowave manufactures radioisotopes to cure cancer and save lives. Niowave builds and operates superconducting electron linear accelerators and is using that expertise to produce various radioisotopes for nuclear medicine. Niowave is a Cooperative Agreement partner with the National Nuclear Security Administration to develop a domestic supply of molybdenum-99 and currently produces yttrium-90 for use in cancer therapy. Niowave is licensed by the NRC to manufacture radioisotopes from uranium and radium and has partnerships with several universities and national laboratories focused on production and purification of radioisotopes for use in cancer therapy. By using radium targets and electron beams, Niowave is able to produce ultra pure and carrier-free actinium-225. Niowave's R&D facility is currently supplying actinium-225 samples to partners. Production-scale operations are ramping up at a second, FDA-compliant facility capable of meeting the growing actinium-225 market.
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BUSINESS INSIGHTS
Sanofi | July 05, 2022
Sanofi Global Health announces the launch of Impact®, a new brand of standard of care medicines produced by Sanofi dedicated for nonprofit distribution to at-risk populations in the world’s most impoverished countries.
The Impact® brand, which includes insulin, glibenclamide and oxaliplatin amonst others, will enable the secure distribution of 30 Sanofi medicines in 40 lower-income countries. Considered essential by the World Health Organization, the medicines cover a wide range of therapeutic areas, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, tuberculosis, malaria and cancer.
The launch of the Impact® brand is among the steps taken since the formation last year of Sanofi Global Health, a nonprofit unit within the company aiming to increase access to healthcare through the distribution of medicines, and the building and bolstering of local healthcare systems in countries with among the lowest per capita GDP. Sanofi Global Health is the first and only global initiative to provide access to such a broad portfolio of medicines in so many countries and across multiple therapeutic areas while funding local support programs and strengthening local inclusive businesses.
“At Sanofi, we believe we have a responsibility to make a difference for the health of those most in need, and we know we have the ability and the ambition to bring about lasting change. With critical medicines, relentless drive and impactful partnerships, we can take our innovation beyond the lab and use it to strengthen health systems and access to medicines for those most vulnerable communities of patients. Sanofi Global Health aims to improve the lives of millions of people who now cannot get the help they need. Sanofi’s renewed purpose is to chase the miracles of science to improve people’s lives. And our quest to make life better for all people must include helping to provide better access to care and quality medicines for underserved populations.”
Paul Hudson Chief Executive Officer, Sanofi
The company also announces the establishment of an Impact fund that will support startup companies and other innovators that can deliver scalable solutions for sustainable healthcare in underserved regions. By providing inclusive businesses financing and technical assistance, the fund will complement the GHU mission of leveraging global, regional and local investment to support the training of healthcare professionals and aiding communities in running sustainable care systems. The announcements come as Sanofi gathers key global health stakeholders to discuss how to build effective end-to-end health programs that are embedded in the communities in which they serve, to best reach, treat and manage patients’ health effectively and sustainably.
About Sanofi
We are an innovative global healthcare company, driven by one purpose: we chase the miracles of science to improve people’s lives. Our team, across some 100 countries, is dedicated to transforming the practice of medicine by working to turn the impossible into the possible. We provide potentially life-changing treatment options and life-saving vaccine protection to millions of people globally, while putting sustainability and social responsibility at the center of our ambitions.
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