Oncodesign Announces the Discovery of New Molecule Inhibitors of Inflammatory Disease and the Publication of 3 New Patent Applications

Regulatory News:

ONCODESIGN (Paris:ALONC), a biotechnology company serving the pharmaceutical industry in the discovery of new therapeutic molecules to fight cancer and other serious illnesses with no known efficient treatment, today announces the discovery of novel inhibitors of inflammatory disease and the publication of 3 new patent applications based on its Nanocyclix technology.

New scientific paper in the Journal of Biological Chemistry highlighting novel RIP2 inhibitors in inflammatory disease

On September 5, 2014, Oncodesign scientists co-authored the paper "in vivo inhibition of RIP2 kinase alleviates inflammatory disease” in the Journal of Biological Chemistry. This paper, completed in close collaboration with the laboratory of Derek Abbott, M.D., Ph.D., (Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio) experts in RIP2 Kinase-driven inflammatory disease, strongly suggests that RIP2 inhibition may be efficacious in the treatment of autoimmune and inflammatory disease such as Crohn disease, asthma or rheumatoid arthritis – diseases which affect millions of people annually. Further, through the use of Oncodesign’s Nanocyclix medicinal chemistry technology, novel inhibitors of RIP2 kinase were discovered.

Thus, the paper highlights the role of RIP2 kinase in autoimmune and inflammatory disease and the in vitro and in vivo efficacy of new Oncodesign molecules to inhibit RIP2 kinase.

RIP2 is a kinase involved in the production of a productive inflammatory response upon bacterial infection. However, numerous diseases including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), sarcoidosis and inflammatory arthritis have been associated with excessive signaling of RIP2 kinase, making pharmacological inhibition of RIP2 an appealing strategy for treatment of these difficult-to-treat diseases. Currently, no specific RIP2 inhibitors have entered clinical phases despite of high unmet medical needs, however, the compounds studied in this manuscript represent potential lead RIP2 inhibitors upon which more potent clinical inhibitors can be based.

"Through the application of our powerful next generation kinase inhibitor discovery platform Nanocyclix, we are making significant progress in advancing our drug discovery pipeline of innovative kinase inhibitors. The paper in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, a highly rated peer reviewed scientific journal, co-authored with Derek Abbott’s lab, provides additional evidence for the potential of Oncodesign RIP2 inhibitors in inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Our Nanocyclix platform has yielded potent and selective inhibitors for this kinase, which represents a highly innovative approach in a medical field of high unmet need”, said Dr. Jan Hoflack, CSO of Oncodesign. "The discovery of novel RIP2 inhibitors represents another example where our proprietary Nanocyclix platform allows the identification of potent and selective inhibitors for kinases in which the medical rationale is high but the chemistry to date has been difficult and largely intractable".

Publication of 3 new patent applications

On September 18, 2014, WIPO (World Intellectual Property Office) published 3 new Oncodesign patents protecting potent and selective macrocyclic RIP2, SIK and LRRK2 inhibitors and their therapeutic uses, for applications in inflammatory diseases, neurodegenerative disorders and oncology.

"The publication of 3 additional patent applications on medicinally important kinase inhibitors using our novel Nanocyclix technology is yet another important step towards not only producing novel pharmaceuticals in difficult-to-treat diseases, but also intellectually protects the assets we have created and the discoveries we have made. We will continue to advance these inhibitors in preclinical proof-of-concept studies, further candidate selection and will ultimately use these inhibitors in clinical studies as we search for treatments for these devastating disorders with huge clinical needs”, added Dr Philippe Genne, CEO & Founder of Oncodesign.

About ONCODESIGN: www.oncodesign.com
Founded 19 years ago by Dr. Philippe Genne, the Company’s CEO and majority shareholder, ONCODESIGN is a biotechnology company that maximizes the pharmaceutical industry’s chances of success in discovering new therapeutic molecules to fight cancer and other serious illnesses with no known efficient treatment. Backed by unique experience acquired through more than 500 clients, including the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, and relying on a comprehensive technological platform combining state-of-the-art medicinal chemistry, advanced animal modeling and medical imaging, ONCODESIGN is able to predict and identify for every molecule, very upstream, its therapeutic use and its potential to become an efficient drug. Applied to kinase inhibitors, molecules that represent a market estimated at over 40 billion dollars in 2016 and accounting for almost 25% of the pharmaceutical industry’s R&D investments, ONCODESIGN’s technology has already enabled the targeting of 7 promising molecules with substantial therapeutic potential, in oncology and elsewhere, and the signing of partnerships, potentially worth €350 million in upfront payments should predefined milestones be reached, with pharmaceutical groups Sanofi, Ipsen and UCB. Based in Dijon, France, in the heart of the town’s university and hospital hub, ONCODESIGN has 63 staff.