May 17th, 2022
Sosei Group Corporation (“Sosei Heptares”; TSE: 4565), the international biopharmaceutical company, and New York City-based Kallyope, pioneers in drug discovery involving the gut-brain axis, have entered a strategic research collaboration to identify and validate novel G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) targets with a goal of creating new drug discovery programs in the area of gastrointestinal diseases.
The agreement will leverage Sosei Heptares’ GPCR Diversified Compound Library and GPCR expertise with the innovative Kallyope gut-brain axis platform, which combines single-cell sequencing, circuit mapping, computational biology and enteroid phenotypic screening. Together, the companies will prioritize and validate GPCR drug targets that represent new opportunities for potential therapeutic intervention in gastrointestinal diseases and create programs for the development of novel small molecules that modulate these targets.
“This collaboration with Kallyope further builds on our Target Identification and Validation (TIV) strategy, which sees us partnering with innovative companies to apply powerful, leading-edge technologies and find new ways to leverage our world-leading GPCR platform to identify and validate novel GPCR targets and initiate new drug discovery programs,” said Matt Barnes, Head of UK Research and Development, Sosei Heptares. “Kallyope leads the industry in its understanding of the gut-brain axis, and we are excited to work with them to identify novel GPCR targets and validate their therapeutic potential in gastrointestinal disease. This is a key area of focus for Sosei Heptares.”
The gastrointestinal tract is the largest and most accessible drug target in the human body. With the greater understanding of gut and gut-brain biology enabled by its platform, Kallyope has generated novel programs spanning several relevant therapeutic areas. A key element of the Kallyope strategy is to target gut and gut-brain physiology with gut-targeted molecules, a fundamentally new approach anticipated to increase the speed and probability of success of drug discovery and development.
“The GPCR platform and scientific expertise of Sosei Heptares is highly complementary to our own target discovery platform and expertise,” said Nancy Thornberry, Chair, Research and Development, Kallyope. “We believe the sophisticated enteroid screening system we’ve developed, when coupled with the compound library and structural biology capabilities that Sosei Heptares has spent 15 years building, will deliver novel targets – with the ultimate goal of new therapies – in areas of high unmet need. We look forward to making significant advances with important implications for human health.”