Manchester university spin-out C4X Discovery Holdings Ltd has received a milestone payment of €8 million from Sanofi reflecting progress in preclinical development of its ongoing oral IL-17A inhibitor programme. The payment represents the latest achievement under a licensing agreement first secured in April 2021, bringing total upfront and preclinical payments to €18 million to date.
Under the terms of the licensing deal, C4X Discovery is entitled to up to €414 million in total upfront, preclinical, development, regulatory and commercialisation milestone payments plus single-digit royalties on future net sales. The agreement positions Sanofi to develop and commercialise an oral therapy for the treatment of inflammatory diseases in what represents a multi-billion-dollar market opportunity.
Targeting IL-17A for Inflammatory Diseases
The IL-17 family of cytokines are strong inducers of inflammation, and researchers believe that a small-molecule therapy that selectively blocks IL-17A activity could offer significant therapeutic benefits. The oral IL-17A inhibitor has the potential to treat inflammatory diseases such as psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, and ankylosing spondylitis, offering an oral alternative to current injectable biologic treatments.
"This latest pre-clinical milestone in our agreement with Sanofi is a testament to the hard work of the drug discovery team and the strength of the partnership," said Emma Blaney, CEO of C4X Discovery. "We remain excited by the potential of this oral IL-17A inhibitor programme to transform treatment options for patients living with debilitating inflammatory diseases."
Conformetrix Technology Platform
The oral drug candidate was identified using C4X Discovery's proprietary Conformetrix technology, invented by company founder James Blundell. The patented platform allows the 3D shapes of free ligands to be precisely measured from experimental data, enabling medicinal chemists to work with greater precision in drug design.
The technology compares free and bound ligand 3D shapes to highlight exact areas of molecules that require modification to achieve optimal drug design. In cases where protein 3D shapes are unavailable, comparison between multiple ligand 3D shapes provides clear direction for medicinal chemists. The platform also addresses challenges including cell permeability, metabolic liabilities and off-target effects through ligand 3D structure analysis.
Pipeline Validation and Future Development
David Lawrence, Chairman of C4X Discovery, emphasized the broader implications of the programme's progress. "The progress of the oral IL-17A inhibitor programme is a reflection of the growing commercial and scientific value of our wider pipeline," Lawrence stated. "With three partnered programs and several other high value programs in discovery, including alpha4 beta7 and PAD4, this provides further validation of our differentiated approach to drug discovery."
The company is now planning to prepare its lead programmes for clinical development, building on what Blaney described as recognition from global pharmaceutical leaders of their innovative drug discovery capabilities. C4X Discovery combines scientific expertise with cutting-edge technologies to deliver small molecule drug candidates across multiple disease indications focused on immuno-inflammation.
