Schrödinger (Nasdaq: SDGR) and Centessa Pharmaceuticals plc
(“Centessa”) (Nasdaq: CNTA), together with subsidiary Orexia
Therapeutics (“Orexia”), today announced an exclusive collaboration
focused on the discovery of novel therapeutics targeting the
orexin-2 receptor (OX2R), which is known to play a role in a broad
spectrum of sleep disorders including narcolepsy. The collaboration
provides Orexia with substantial access to Schrödinger’s entire
computational platform as well as Schrödinger’s extensive expertise
in ultra-large-scale deployment of its technology.
Orexia will leverage Schrödinger’s computational platform,
including LiveDesign and Free Energy Perturbation (FEP+), which
facilitates high-performance calculations for drug discovery to
enable accurate prediction of potency at the target of interest.
The collaboration will be enabled by Orexia’s structural biology
capabilities, including the stabilized OX2R StaR® protein
exclusively licensed from Sosei Heptares, and high-resolution
crystal structures in agonist conformation. The collaboration
represents the first time Schrödinger’s technology will be applied
in an orexin agonist setting at scale.
“While prevailing treatment approaches only address the symptoms
associated with narcolepsy type 1 (NT1), we believe orexin agonists
offer a disruptive approach, with the capacity to address the
underlying pathology of the disorder. Orexia’s utilization of OX2R
stabilized receptors (StaR® technology) provides the
foundation for R&D which could significantly benefit patients
with NT1. We look forward to partnering with Schrödinger to
complement the discovery and development work we are conducting at
Orexia,” said Saurabh Saha, MD, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of
Centessa.
“Orexia’s asset-centric approach enables us to pick the best
technology partners for discovery and development. While we expect
to enter IND-enabling studies with our lead molecule next year, we
are also delighted to work with Schrödinger to enable the
acceleration of our discovery efforts for molecules with
potentially differentiated clinical profiles. Indeed, the
therapeutic possibilities of orexin agonists extend well beyond NT1
into other rare primary hypersomnia disorders, such as narcolepsy
type 2 and idiopathic hypersomnia, and into a broad range of
additional indications characterized by excessive daytime
sleepiness. We are committed to exploring the full potential of
orexin agonists to help patients across a wide range of
indications,” said Mario Alberto Accardi, PhD, Chief Executive
Officer of Orexia.
"Our research collaboration with Orexia is illustrative of a new
approach to help support discovery efforts at biotech companies,
where we apply our technology at scale on behalf of our
collaborator," stated Ramy Farid, PhD, President and Chief
Executive Officer of Schrödinger. “The Orexia team brings deep
experience in orexin biology and structure-based drug design, and
we’re excited to provide Orexia with large-scale access to our
leading computational approaches and expertise to accelerate the
discovery of novel therapeutics targeting orexin biology.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Orexia will be responsible for
preclinical research activities, clinical development and
commercialization of future product candidates discovered under the
collaboration. Schrödinger will receive an upfront software access
payment and may become eligible to receive certain preclinical,
development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments, as well
as low single digit royalties on global net sales.
About SchrödingerSchrödinger is transforming
the way therapeutics and materials are discovered. Schrödinger has
pioneered a physics-based software platform that enables discovery
of high-quality, novel molecules for drug development and materials
applications more rapidly and at lower cost compared to traditional
methods. The software platform is used by biopharmaceutical and
industrial companies, academic institutions, and government
laboratories around the world. Schrödinger’s multidisciplinary drug
discovery team also leverages the software platform to advance
collaborative programs and its own pipeline of novel therapeutics
to address unmet medical needs.
Founded in 1990, Schrödinger has over 500 employees and is
engaged with customers and collaborators in more than 70 countries.
To learn more, visit www.schrodinger.com and follow us on LinkedIn
and Twitter.
About Centessa PharmaceuticalsCentessa
Pharmaceuticals plc aims to bring impactful new medicines to
patients by combining the strengths of an asset-centric model with
the benefits of scale and diversification typical of larger R&D
organizations. The asset-centric model refers to a highly
specialized, singular-focused company that is led by a team of
well-recognized subject matter experts. Centessa’s asset-centric
companies’ programs range from discovery-stage to late-stage
development and include diverse therapeutic areas such as oncology,
hematology, immunology/inflammation, neuroscience, hepatology,
pulmonology and nephrology. For more information, visit
www.centessa.com.
About Orexia TherapeuticsOrexia was founded by
venture capital firm Medicxi in collaboration with Heptares
Therapeutics Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sosei Group
Corporation (Sosei Heptares), and leverages Sosei Heptares’ GPCR
StaR® technology to develop oral and intranasal orexin receptor
agonists using structure-based drug design approaches. These
agonists target the treatment of narcolepsy type 1, with the aim to
directly address the underlying pathology of orexin loss, as well
as other neurological disorders characterized by excessive daytime
sleepiness. For more information, visit
www.orexiatherapeutics.com.
Schrödinger Forward Looking
Statements This press release contains forward-looking
statements within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995 including, but not limited to those regarding
our expectations about the speed and capacity of our computational
platform, the ability for our platform to be applied in an orexin
agonist setting, the potential of our collaboration with Orexia to
develop new therapies, our ability to realize potential milestones,
royalties or other payments under the collaboration and the risk
that we may not realize the expected benefits of the collaboration.
Statements including words such as "anticipate," "believe,"
"contemplate," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend,"
"may," "might," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project,"
"should," "target," "will," "would" and statements in the future
tense are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking
statements reflect our current views about our plans, intentions,
expectations, strategies, and prospects, which are based on the
information currently available to us and on assumptions we have
made. Actual results may differ materially from those described in
these forward-looking statements and are subject to a variety of
assumptions, uncertainties, risks and factors that are beyond our
control, including our reliance upon third-party providers of
cloud-based infrastructure to host our software solutions, our
reliance on Orexia to perform its obligations to develop and
commercialize any development candidates discovered under the
collaboration, the uncertainties inherent in drug development and
commercialization, uncertainties associated with the regulatory
review of clinical trials and applications for marketing approvals,
the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our operations or
the operations of third parties we rely on, as well as the other
risks and uncertainties identified under the caption "Risk Factors"
and elsewhere in our Securities and Exchange Commission filings and
reports, including the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission on August 12, 2021, as well as
future filings and reports by us. Any forward-looking statements
contained in this press release speak only as of the date hereof.
Except as required by law, we undertake no duty or obligation to
update any forward-looking statements contained in this press
release as a result of new information, future events, changes in
expectations or otherwise.
Centessa Forward-Looking
StatementThis press release contains forward-looking
statements. These statements may be identified by words such as
"believe," "anticipate," "plan," "expect," "intend," "will," "may,"
"goal," "project," "estimate," "potential," and variations of these
words or similar expressions that are intended to identify
forward-looking statements. Any such statements in this press
release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to
be forward-looking statements. These statements include discussions
relating to discovery of novel therapeutics targeting the orexin-2
receptor (OX2R); plans for continued research and development; our
expectations with respect to the treatment paradigm for narcolepsy
type 1 (NT1) and our belief that orexin agonists offer a disruptive
approach to NT1 treatment and has the capacity to address the
underlying pathology of the disorder; our ability to deliver
impactful medicines to patients; the ability of our key executives
to drive execution of our portfolio of programs; our asset-centric
business model and the intended advantages and benefits thereof;
research and clinical development plans; the scope, progress,
results and costs of developing our product candidates or any other
future product candidates; strategy; regulatory matters, including
the timing and likelihood of success of obtaining approvals to
initiate or continue clinical trials or market any products; market
size and opportunity; and our ability to complete certain
milestones.
Any forward-looking statements in this
press release are based on our current expectations, estimates and
projections only as of the date of this release and are subject to
a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results
to differ materially and adversely from those set forth in or
implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and
uncertainties include, but are not limited to, our ability to
discover novel therapeutics targeting OX2R; foreign regulatory
agencies may not agree with our regulatory approval strategies,
components of our filings, such as clinical trial designs, conduct
and methodologies, or the sufficiency of data submitted; risks
inherent in developing products and technologies; risks related to
our ability to protect and maintain our intellectual property
position; business, regulatory, economic and competitive risks,
uncertainties, contingencies and assumptions about the company; our
ability to obtain adequate financing to fund our research and
development plans and other expenses; trends in the industry; the
legal and regulatory framework for the industry; future
expenditures risks related to our asset-centric corporate model;
the risk that any one or more of our product candidates will not be
successfully developed and commercialized; the risk that the
results of preclinical studies or clinical studies will not be
predictive of future results in connection with future studies; and
risks related to the COVID-19 pandemic including the effects of the
Delta variant. These and other risks concerning our programs and
operations are described in additional detail in our most recent
Form 10-Q, which is on file with the SEC and available on the SEC’s
website at www.sec.gov. We operate in a very competitive
environment in which new risks emerge from time to time. These
forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations,
and speak only as of the date hereof. We explicitly disclaim any
obligation to update any forward-looking statements except to the
extent required by law.
Schrödinger
ContactsJaren Irene Madden (Investors)Schrödinger,
Inc.jaren.madden@schrodinger.com617-286-6264
Tracy Lessor (Media)Schrödinger,
Inc.tracy.lessor@schrodinger.com617-519-9827
Centessa
Contacts:
Investors:Jennifer Porcelli, Head of Investor
RelationsCentessa
Pharmaceuticalsjennifer.porcelli@centessa.com
Media:Dan Budwick, 1ABdan@1abmedia.com
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