These multifunctional linear and macrocyclic peptides differ from the products already on the market, providing access to a new chemical space and new intellectual property
Montpellier, France, November 19, 2015 – Oxeltis, a medicinal chemistry and custom synthesis company, along with peptide and protein chemistry specialist Genepep, and BCI-Pharma, a biotechnology company specialized in pharmaceutical research in small molecules, today announce the market launch of their new chemical libraries for the pharmaceutical market. The three companies have pooled their expertise to design, produce and bring to market innovative multifunctional nucleopeptides.
The products resulting from this collaboration cater to the needs of their clients looking to extend the chemical space of their chemical libraries. They offer the option of screening for molecules whose chemical and conformational diversity differ from other molecules on the market. The products are the result of a combination of peptides and nucleosides which allow for the creation of linear and macrocyclic end products. The multifunctional compounds (MW = 550 Da for linear compounds) resulting from these chemical libraries cover a new chemical space.
Marketing of the libraries started in September 2015 with the first delivery to major clients.
“Our products are different as they provide access to a new chemical space and to intellectual property that have not yet been covered. Genepep will commercialize the products so our clients and partners can now access off-the-shelf molecules and molecules based on intermediates designed on request,” said Jean-Marc Allaire, CEO of Oxeltis.
BCI-Pharma, Genepep and Oxeltis have set up a research program for new molecular structures (scaffolds). The program will span the next two years and enable regular additions to the new libraries. Pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies seeking small innovative therapeutic molecules will use the libraries on their screening platforms. The synergy between the three companies paves the way for the next phases, including medicinal chemistry, developing focused libraries and optimizing hits into leads and preclinical candidates.
“We contacted Oxeltis and BCI-Pharma because we were designing new libraries to add to our catalog. Pooling our ideas, our expertise, our platforms and our sales force to supplement our existing range of libraries has proven to be very successful,” said Karine Puget, CEO of Genepep SA.
Dominique Surleraux, CEO of BCI-Pharma, added: “This agreement springs from the desire to offer innovative products, work collaboratively and identify clinical candidates that improve patients’ day-to-day lives.”
In the fast-growing high throughput screening market, the shared chemical library research and marketing effort offers Genepep and Oxeltis additional revenue and further collaboration through the provision of research services, while for BCI-Pharma, it provides an opportunity for internal and collaborative R&D.
In 2014, the three companies, all based in the Montpellier metropolitan area, France, had a total of 22 staff and overall revenue of almost €2 million ($2.15 million)(1). The three partners all expect two-figure growth in their businesses for 2015 and have already hired eight new members of staff.
Oxeltis, Genepep and BCI-Pharma are members of the Eurobiomed competitiveness cluster and the French Association of Service and Innovation Companies (AFSSI [website in French]).
About Oxeltis
Oxeltis is a medicinal chemistry services company founded in Montpellier in 2010 by former researchers at Idenix Pharmaceuticals.
The company has a small-scale custom synthesis business, as well as hit and lead optimization services, mainly in the areas of antivirals, antibiotics and anticancer compounds.
The Oxeltis team comprises 15 experienced medicinal chemists with expertise in particular areas of organic synthesis: nucleosides/nucleotides, modified sugars and oligo/polysaccharides and macrocycles. The team focuses on speed, quality and confidentiality in the services and collaborative ventures that it develops.
Oxeltis works with European and North American companies as well as research institutions such as MRC, UCL, the University of Cambridge, the French national institute for health and medical research (Inserm) and the French national center for scientific research (CNRS). Over 80% of its business is in international export.
http://www.oxeltis.com/
About Genepep
Founded in 2003, Genepep is a French company specialized in the chemical synthesis of peptides, peptide libraries and small proteins for therapeutic, diagnostic and cosmetic applications.
Its peptides business covers design, synthesis and optimization to enhance particular criteria such as peptide solubility or stability, with or without chemical modification (such as phosphorylation, sulfation, disulfide bonding or lactam, triazole or olefin cyclization). Genepep also provides its clients with custom or catalog libraries for the discovery of new active molecules. Lastly, Genepep offers a chemical synthesis service for proteins of up to 200 amino acids by using native and non-native chemical ligation to produce selectively mutated or labeled native proteins. Based in the greater Montpellier area, it has nine members of staff. Genepep shares the ownership of a patent for the green chemistry synthesis of cyclical compounds with the CNRS.
http://www.genepep.com/en/
About BCI Pharma
BCI Pharma is a French biotechnology company with expertise in medicinal chemistry and is specialized in innovative chemical libraries.
The company designs and validates innovative libraries of kinase (3, BiKin I-III) inhibitors. The platform has been used to identify a series of selective and very potent kinase FLT3 inhibitors. The published results of clinical trials have shown FLT3 inhibitors to be very promising in the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). These molecules are also of value in the treatment of other conditions such as neuropathic pain. The company has filed two patents covering an entirely new chemical space of kinase inhibitors.
Other research projects in the area of cancer, inflammatory and central nervous system diseases are being initiated from the selective kinase inhibitors developed by the company.
BCI-Pharma is currently working on new antiviral therapeutic approaches for the dengue virus and herpes. The company is based in the greater Montpellier area and has five members of staff.
http://www.bci-pharma.com/