C4X Discovery Holdings PLC (AIM:C4XD) has confirmed that it is in "advanced partnering discussions" for a third asset discovered and developed by its research team.
It said it hopes to have the deal for its NRF2 activator programme for inflammatory diseases signed sometime in the second half of this year.
The update was provided in a business review that summarised C4X’s progress thus far in 2022.
Probably the most important milestone was the first payment – of €3mln – as part of its agreement with Sanofi, which licensed the company’s IL-17A inhibitor programme targeting autoimmune diseases. In total, the deal with the French giant is worth €414mln.
"Our partnered portfolio has continued to deliver over the past few months, most notably with our first milestone payment from Sanofi for our oral IL-17a inhibitor to treat inflammatory diseases,” said chief executive Clive Dix.
“This was an important further step in demonstrating the commercial value of C4XD's expertise, approach to drug discovery, and its business model.”
At the same time, Indivior, the FTSE 250 pharma group, has completed preparations for a phase I evaluation of a C4X-discovered drug candidate for addiction that is expected to enter the clinic next month.
In the update, investors were also told:
- It now has six early-stage programmes - three oncology, three inflammation-immunology
- Researchers close to identifying best-in-class MALT-1 inhibitor programme
- Work on its a4b7 integrin assets is progressing well