NRG Therapeutics (NRG) and Domainex have announced a collaboration to focus on developing and improving treatment for neurodegenerative diseases.
The companies will collaborate to develop novel small molecule disease-modifying medicines for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease, motor neurone disease (MND) and other debilitating chronic neurodegenerative disorders.
The programme, made possible following NRG receiving a £2.68m early-stage Biomedical Catalyst (BMC) award funded by government-backed agency Innovate UK, will see the neuroscience drug discovery company invest a potential £1m in the project.
Previous work carried out by NRG, funded by Parkinson’s Virtual Biotech, has led to the identification of a number of small molecule lead series which inhibit mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP).
The mPTP is a transmembrane protein located in the mitochondrial inner membrane and is critical for cell signalling and regulated cell death. The disruption of mPTP in brain cells has demonstrated neuroprotective characteristics in several preclinical models of Parkinson’s and MND.
Over a one-year period the two companies will conduct an integrated lead optimisation programme to optimise the pharmaceutical properties of small-molecule mPTP inhibitors, with the aim of nominating a preclinical candidate for the treatment of Parkinson’s or MND.
Commenting on the collaboration, Dr Neil Miller, co-founder and CEO of NRG, said: “Mitochondrial dysfunction is a common underlying pathology in many degenerative diseases and there is a substantial body of preclinical data available which demonstrates that inhibition of the mPTP in the brain prevents neuronal cell death, reduces neuroinflammation and extends survival in animals. We look forward to working with Domainex to progress the development of these compounds into potentially life-changing medicines.”
CEO of Domainex, Tom Mander, said: “We hope that this programme will result in a new treatment for neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s, which will ultimately benefit patients who desperately need new treatment options for these devastating diseases.”
The project follows several Innovative UK-funded projects Domainex has worked on, including a project targeting IKKƐ/TBK1 for the treatment of inflammatory disease. Domainex also received Innovate UK funding to develop its PoLiPa technology.