C4XD breaks new ground in diabetes and MS

DRUG development pioneer C4X Discovery has made breakthroughs in its research to help the treatment of Type 2 diabetes and inflammation caused by diseases like Multiple Sclerosis (MS).

The Manchester company says the two areas represent “areas of significant unmet medical need that represent large pharmaceutical markets”.

C4XD’s technology has enabled rapid programmes in recent months, providing “exciting proof-of-concept” for its novel approach to drug discovery.

“We have now met significant milestones in Type 2 diabetes and inflammation, adding to the earlier success with our Orexin-1 programme, and further demonstrating C4XD’s ability to rapidly and intelligently develop medicines for areas of high, unmet need,” a company statement said.

C4XD has identified molecules which activate GPR142, a key factor in the production of insulin. Targeting GPR142 may stimulate insulin production in a glucose-dependent manner, avoiding the hypoglycaemia risk associated with existing diabetes therapies.

GPR142 has recently become the focus of considerable research and patent activity within the pharma industry.

On inflammation, C4XD has designed novel activators for the NRF-2 pathway, which is important in mediating diseases such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (“COPD”) and MS.

NRF-2 is the subject of considerable investment by the pharma industry. For example, it is the target for the MS drug Tecfidera, which generated 2014 revenues of $2.9bn.

Existing approaches activate NRF-2 with potential for toxic side effects.

C4XD’s technology has enabled it to design and generate selective, reversible NRF-2 activators that may offer improved safety.

Chief executive Piers Morgan said: “We continue to make outstanding progress with our proprietary programmes, which are focused on areas of high unmet medical need, with large target markets.

“Our technology enables us to design novel, selective, potent leads and drug candidates in a fraction of the time and cost compared to conventional methods.”

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