Sosei, GSK agree to develop inflammatory bowel disease treatment

Nxera Pharma

20/12/2020 23:30

Dec 20 (Reuters) - Japan's Sosei Group Corp  4565.T  said
late on Sunday it agreed with GlaxoSmithKline  GSK.L  to
collaborate on developing treatments for some digestive tract
illnesses caused by immune disorders.
    Sosei and the British drugmaker will work on developing oral
medicines that will target the GPR35 protein, a type of cell
receptor which has been linked to gastric conditions like
inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), in which parts of the
digestive system swell up.
    As part of the agreement, GSK will get global rights to a
number of GPR35 agonists developed by Sosei for upfront payment,
potential near-term development milestones and research funding
of up to 34 million pounds ($46 million), Sosei said.
    GPR35 belongs to the G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs)
group, which helps with humans' sense of smell, taste, pain,
vision and some other cellular communication, acting as a
doorway conveying messages to the cell to act appropriately.
    Agonists are molecules that bind to a cell receptor and
induce a biological response.
    "Using genetics to prioritise potential treatments for a
challenging immune disorder like IBD exemplifies the approach we
are taking at GSK," said John Lepore, senior vice president of 
research at GSK.      
    IBD is an umbrella term for conditions like Crohn's disease
and Ulcerative colitis. There were nearly 7 million cases of IBD
in 2017 worldwide, according to a study https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langas/article/PIIS2468-1253(19)30333-4/fulltext
 published in The Lancet early this year. 
    Sosei could also get additional payments of up to 336
million pounds upon reaching some targets, the pharmaceutical
firm said.

($1 = 0.7401 pounds)

 (Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong and Aby Jose Koilparambil in
Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
 ((Yadarisa.Shabong@thomsonreuters.com; Twitter: https://twitter.com/Yadarisa;
 +919742735150;))