Back in April Richard Treagus commented that Neuren’s drug development programs were continuing to register a high level of interest from a range of global and speciality pharmaceutical companies. I think it’s safe to say that today’s announcement will push that interest even higher.
A check of pharma areas of interest confirms that therapies for both orphan diseases and neuro-degenerative diseases are in high demand.
Below is a list of ten pharma which could well be potential suitors for trofinetide. The list isn’t exhaustive and is in no particular order. Bold emphasis is mine.
Novartis
Novartis has long been a leading pharma in rare disease research. Head of Global Research at Novartis, Mark Fishman, says that targeting rare diseases is a core approach for the firm.
“Our approach is to focus on fundamental mechanisms, and then to go into the clinic in a way that permits us to test that mechanism – for example using a homogenous population of patients who have a genetic disease, or stratified.”
“The logic to this is that later we can expand from this restricted population to a larger population, with a more common disease, but with that shared mechanism”.
“We have doubled our output…. we have more ongoing projects than any other company.”
Takeda says it has recently reaffirmed its commitment to CNS disorders. It’s interested in developing innovative and differentiated medications for people suffering from psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders.
Specifically, Takeda is interested in “disease-modifying treatments for psychotic or neurodevelopmental disorders (e.g. Bipolar Disorder, Autism, Fragile X Syndrome, Rett Syndrome), with a focus on therapies that can be applied across multiple disorders.”
Roche expresses interest in Autism Spectrum Disorders. “Our focus is currently in fragile X and ASD and we remain open to evaluation therapeutics impacting synaptic morphology or resulting in improvement of core symptoms.”
Shire is another key player in orphan diseases. It claims that commitment to rare diseases remains at the very heart of its company. It currently has 28 pipeline assets for rare disease in development.
Shire is interested in strategic partnerships, acquisitions and licenses. Within the rare disease space, the company has six focus areas which include CNS/Neuromuscular Orphan Diseases.
Boehringer Ingelheim is yet another key player in orphan diseases. It also has interest in in-licensing and collaboration in the field of neuropsychiatric diseases.
In CNS diseases it says its partnering focus is:
… in-licensing and collaboration opportunities in the field of neuropsychiatric diseases, with a specific interest in novel approaches which modulate signaling pathways involved in synaptic dysfunction and/or maladaptive brain circuitry as the root causes of various neuropsychiatric symptom domains in disorders such as:
Alzheimer’s disease: Focus on cognitive impairment and other neuropsychiatric symptoms
Schizophrenia: Focus on cognitive impairment and negative symptoms
Depression: Focus on treatment-resistant depression
Impulse control disorders
In all these areas, Boehringer Ingelheim is looking for compounds at all stages, from early drug discovery to Phase II/clinical proof of concept.
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