Almirall, S.A. (ALM) and HitGen Ltd, a privately held biotechnology company established since 2012 in Chengdu, China, entered in a multi-target research collaboration to develop novel oral chemical entities (NCE) for patients suffering from moderate to severe atopic dermatitis.
The purpose of this strategic partnership is the identification of advanced hits, to be licensed by Almirall, using HitGen DNA-encoded library. HitGen has a robust platform with extensive libraries (nearly 400 billion compounds), and a strong track record of deal making, which makes it an excellent partner for Almirall.
Under the terms of the agreement, Almirall will provide reagents and material to screen the targets. HitGen will prosecute screening, hit ID, confirmation and early testing against the selected targets leveraging its proprietary unique DEL Screening platform.
Bhushan Hardas, M.D., MBA, Chief Scientific Officer of Almirall, commented that “this agreement keeps us on the track to achieve our goal of becoming a leading medical dermatology company. We look forward to collaborate with HitGen in identifying new molecules with the potential of becoming new treatment options for patients with atopic dermatitis“.
Dr. Jin Li, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of HitGen, stated “we are delighted to enter this collaboration with Almirall, a leader in medical dermatology. This collaboration further emphasizes the role of HitGen in the rapidly developing field of DNA-encoded chemistry. We will work closely with Almirall’s scientists to develop novel oral chemical entities to address unmet medical needs in atopic dermatitis“.
For more information, please visit almirall.com
