NEWS Boehringer Ingelheim acquires inflammation portfolio Events


17-19 September 2012 Organic Process Research & Development Edinburgh, UK www.scientificupdate.co.uk


9-11 October 2012 CPhI Worldwide Madrid, Spain www.cphi.com


9-11 October 2012 ICSE Europe Madrid, Spain www.icsexpo.com


9-11 October 2012 Innopack


Madrid, Spain www.innopack-pharma.com


9-11 October 2012 P-M


MEC Europe Madrid, Spain www.cphi.com


ChemOvation and MISSION Therapeutics agreement


ChemOvation, an experienced UK-based provider of high-quality synthetic and organic chemistry services, has entered into a drug discovery project agreement with MISSION Therapeutics, a speciality pharmaceutical company aimed at translating cutting-edge cell biology research on DNA repair into drugs. ChemOvation offers wide- ranging expertise and individual, flexible solutions to drug discovery project requirements. The company has been trading since 1999 and has worked with many customers across the USA, Europe and Japan.ChemOvation is able to offer expertise in lead optimisation; hit expansion; medicinal chemistry; organic chemistry; custom library synthesis; process development; early formulation studies; scale- up; and reference standards.


Boehringer Ingelheim and Funxional Therapeutics, have formed an agreement under which Boehringer Ingelheim will acquire the global rights to Funxional Therapeutics’ FX125L compound and somatotaxin programme. FX125L is a small molecule to treat a broad range of inflammatory diseases and was recently studied in a Phase 2 clinical trial. Boehringer Ingelheim will be responsible for all further research, development and commercialisation of FX125L. “Boehringer Ingelheim is


delighted to add another promising compound to its development pipeline of drugs for the treatment of respiratory disease, one of its most important therapeutic areas,” said Professor Klaus Dugi, Corporate Senior Vice President Medicine, Boehringer Ingelheim. “By acquiring the Funxional Therapeutics programme, we are looking forward to bringing a potential new therapy to patients, for instance those suffering from asthma and COPD.”


The somatotaxins are a new


class of anti-inflammatory small molecules that exploit a new pathway discovered by FXT. This novel pathway acts through the type-2 somatostatin receptor involved in the resolution of inflammation, and disrupted in chronic inflammatory diseases including asthma, COPD and rheumatoid arthritis. FXT’s portfolio of somatotaxins exploit this pathway to deliver broad and potent anti-inflammatory activity, with different compounds optimised for topical, parenteral and oral delivery.


Sanofi and Regeneron start Phase 3 programme for LDL cholesterol-lowering antibody


Sanofi and Regeneron


Pharmaceuticals, Inc are to start several trials within ODYSSEY, the Phase 3 clinical programme of SAR236553/REGN727, having initiated patient enrolment. SAR236553/REGN727 is a potential first-in-class, subcutaneously administered, fully human antibody that lowers low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol by targeting PCSK9 (proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9), an enzyme that binds LDL receptors, leading to their accelerated degradation and increased LDL- cholesterol (LDL-C) levels. The ODYSSEY programme will enrol more than 22,000 patients. This includes more than ten clinical trials evaluating the effect of SAR236553/REGN727 on the lowering of LDL cholesterol and an 18,000 patient cardiovascular outcomes study. LDL-C is expected to be the primary efficacy endpoint for regulatory


filings. The studies will be conducted in clinical centres around the world including in the USA, Canada, Europe, South America, Australia and Asia. Studies are currently enrolling patients with familial


hypercholesterolemia or elevated cardiovascular risk, as well as patients unable to tolerate statin therapy. In parallel, Sanofi has established a dedicated PCSK9 Development & Launch Unit, headed by Jay Edelberg, MD, PhD. PCSK9 is known to contribute to circulating LDL-C levels, as it binds to LDL receptors resulting in their degradation so that fewer are available on liver cells to remove LDL-C from the blood. Moreover, traditional LDL-lowering therapies such as statins stimulate the production of PCSK9, which limits their own ability to lower LDL-C. Inhibiting the PCSK9 pathway is therefore a potentially novel mechanism for


MEPC agrees sale of Granta Park to BioMed Realty MEPC has entered into a definitive agreement with BioMed Realty Trust, Inc for the sale of Granta Park in Cambridge, UK for about £127 million. The acquisition will see BioMed take control of 472,200 sq ft of space including eleven buildings at the park, which is home to some of


the world’s foremost biotechnology and


pharmaceutical companies. The sale is line with MEPC’s continuing strategy of releasing resources to focus on its large- scale, mixed-use estates. Under MEPC’s management Granta Park has grown into a leading


12 sp2 Inter-Active July/August 2012 lowering LDL-C.


SAR236553/REGN727, created using Regeneron’s VelocImmune® technology, is a fully human monoclonal antibody directed against PCSK9, administered via subcutaneous injection. It has been studied in three Phase 2 clinical studies: two in patients with primary hypercholesterolemia and one in patients with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (heFH). In the primary hypercholesterolemia trials treatment with different dose regimens of SAR236553 /REGN727 on top of statin therapy significantly reduced LDL-C from baseline. A third Phase 2 study was in patients with HeFH whose LDL-C levels remained elevated despite statin therapy with or without ezetimibe. Across the four tested doses of SAR236553/REGN727, patients achieved a mean reduction in LDL-C from baseline of 28% to 68%.


science park with 99.8% of units let. Tenants include MedImmune, PPD Global, UCB Pharma and Vernalis (R&D). Granta Park is located within the Cambridge science cluster and is close to the University, the Cavendish Laboratory, the LMB, the Sanger Institute and the Babraham Institute.


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