Axxam & Sanofi enter into research collaboration

A research collaboration between Axxam and Sanofi has been announced, which will be aimed at further optimising several small molecules targeted against a range of diseases of the central nervous system (CNS).

Under the terms of the agreement, Sanofi and Axxam will continue the work commenced by Axxam, involving the high throughput screening of its small molecule screening library. It was this programme that identified several tractable hit series, which, when subsequently optimised, were found to include some potent and selective molecules with high CNS exposures that offered promising results in disease-relevant pharmacology models.

This programme of work will be continued by Sanofi and Axxam jointly. If the collaborative work is successful, Sanofi has an option to enter into a subsequent licensing agreement.

“We are excited to open this latest chapter of our interactions with Sanofi. During the initial evaluation of our compounds in their laboratories we were impressed by the deep understanding of the target and its potential in addressing a broad range of neurodegenerative disorders with significant unmet medical needs,” stated Dr Russell Thomas, director of Discovery Research at Axxam. “In addition, we have been extremely pleased by the collaborative spirit at Sanofi and look forward to working together to advance this initiative. We are confident that this collaboration offers both companies a unique opportunity to share knowledge, assets and results and to accelerate compounds into the clinic.”

Partial funding of Axxam’s prior work on this project was provided by the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation.

The financial terms and specific pharmacological target of this agreement were not disclosed.