Maruho, X-Chem collaborate to advance drug discovery

X-Chem, a US biotech company, has entered into a drug discovery partnership with Japanese dermatology company Maruho to discover lead compounds for new and difficult targets for the treatment of human ailments.

Post agreement, X-Chem will use its DNA-encoded library (DEX) screening platform to search for novel drug-like leads for Maruho targets associated with human diseases while the Japanese dermatology company will continue to grow worldwide.

Maruho will conduct clinical trials with licensed drug candidates and will have the exclusive worldwide rights to commercialize any products born out of the partnership.

Japanese dermatology firm Maruho, X-Chem collaborate to advance drug discovery

Japanese dermatology company Maruho, X-Chem collaborate to advance drug discovery. Image courtesy of Toeytoey at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

Rick Wagner – president and CEO of X-Chem said: “This is X-Chem’s 5th partnership in Japan, and is a clear result of the strong record of success that X-Chem has achieved over the past decade of drug discovery partnerships focused on challenging targets.

“The end result of these partnerships is well over 50 licensed programs to date.

“This partnership with Maruho demonstrates that X-Chem can customize our business models to suit the needs of a wide variety of pharma and biotech companies, so as to enable the discovery of novel chemical equity with the goal of helping patients worldwide.”

Upon the signing of the agreement, X-Chem has received an upfront payment from Maruho and will be eligible for future payments tied to achieving pre-defined research, development, and regulatory milestones.

The US biotech company will also receive sales-related royalties for products identified under the partnership.