MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY
present time, NeuroVive has large Phase 2 and Phase 3 clinical trials in traumatic brain injury and myocardial infarction. The drug is based on the well known immunosuppressant cyclosporine, and the biochemical target is cyclophilin D, a mitochondrial variant of the receptor mediating immunosuppression by the drug in the cytosol. “Whilst the data emerging from the ongoing trials are extremely encouraging, there are a number of significant issues yet to be overcome,” says Saxby
Peptide bond isomerise drug discovery
Selcia has also established a platform for peptide bond isomerase-directed drug discovery. These proteins represent a very large class of therapeutic targets and have implications across essentially all disease areas, including those of interest to NeuroVive. Saxby says that while clearly belonging to the druggable category, they have largely been ignored by pharma mostly due to false negative outcomes from target validation approaches and the fact that drug screening and functional assays are complex: “They require elaborate experimental protocols that severely limit the sample throughput. Moreover, the architecture of the catalytic sites of these enzymes makes it unlikely that screening sample libraries assembled using current drug property criteria, for example, the ‘rule of five’, would contain inhibitors of these enzymes. “Our medicinal chemistry platform has enabled us to make very rapid progress in both NeuroVive programmes and we expect delivery of a clinical candidate in each programme in 2012. The platform’s unique strength of Selcia will be the source of innovative drug candidates from Selcia in the coming years,” he adds.
Applying extensive technology expertise
“Most of our collaborations are based on some specific strength that is not found elsewhere, typically a technology such as our CEfrag screen, or a deep knowledge of a class of agents or targets,” says Saxby. “We have recruited some outstanding medicinal chemists from major pharmaceutical companies and have taken the best elements of the ‘Big Pharma’ cultures, without the disadvantages often associated with their size and age. There is probably no therapeutic
18 sp2 Inter-Active March/April 2012
area that is not covered by the combined past experience of our chemistry team. “Another differentiating strength at Selcia is the flexibility arising from our business model and the terms of our collaborations,” he adds. “Not having external money in the company provides us with a high degree of freedom and enables us to accommodate customer wishes from some of our customers that simply could not be met by our competitors. We are fortunate also in that our ambitious growth plans are matched by an existing facility that has ample room for expansion.”
Goals for the future Selcia’s primary goal is to repeat its exploitation of internal chemistry IP through collaborations and licensing agreements that will yield longer-term revenues from milestone and royalty revenue streams, some of which will be combined with multi-year discovery fee-for-service contracts. Saxby says the company will continue to explore and invest in the innovative development of its CEfrag technology and service, and combine this with the new peptide bond isomerase platform. “As part of our mitochondrial medicine collaboration with NeuroVive, where Selcia retains all non-therapeutic rights to compounds generated, we are pursuing the development of compounds that have the potential for significant human and non- human use applications,” he says. “If successful we would expect to partner these compounds for at least two distinct applications within the next two years with significant revenue streams being generated within three years. “We are also investing in the development of a completely novel class of non-cyclosporine non-immunosuppressive cyclophilin inhibitors that are also expected to have a range of potential applications, including inflammation, oncology, and potent broad spectrum anti- viral activity. We also currently have a number of compounds from our anti-infectives programmes under evaluation by pharmaceutical companies with a view to licensing the compounds in a deal that will combine long-term fee-for-service programmes and yield milestone and royalty payments. “Finally, in order to achieve our forecast for the next three years, we will need to expand our service chemistry capacity in Ongar for both divisions. The forecast is based, in part, on a global CEfrag deal with a major pharmaceutical company, and a number of medicinal drug discovery collaborations that are close to signing.. “We have established Selcia as a world leader in 14C custom radiolabelling and as a
Meet Simon Saxby of Selcia
Simon Saxby joined Selcia as CEO in April 2011 from RecipharmCobra Biologics where he was Vice-President Biologics. His previous roles as CEO include periods at Cobra Biomanufacturing PLC and at Alpha Biologics Sdn Bhd. He has 13 years’ experience as a Board Director and has led successful M&A activities for two companies. He has a scientific background in immunology, and during his 31 years in the life sciences industry he has been a founder and fundraiser for companies in the UK, Malaysia and the USA where he spent five years leading the development of a CMO business for Unisyn Technologies. Prior to that he was a scientific founder of Murex Diagnostics, a founder director of Quantum Biosystems Ltd, and held senior management positions with KS Biomedix PLC, Xenova PLC and Scynexis Europe Ltd. He is a member of the Institute of Directors’ ‘Policy Voice’ forum, advising the Institute, legislators and government on business issues.
chemistry service company that delivers innovative drug candidates with strong intellectual property positions. We have a strong internal pipeline of technology and IP, founded on a profitable, independent and growing organisation. We operate in a highly competitive market and fully recognise that maintaining a high level of innovation and service quality will be necessary for our continued long-term success,” he concludes.
Further information Simon Saxby CEO Selcia Limited Fyfield Business & Research Park Fyfield Road Ongar Essex CM5 0GS United Kingdom Tel: + 44 1277 367 000
Fax: + 44 1277 367 099
Internet links Email:
contact@selcia.com Web:
www.selcia.com
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