The goal of the multi-year collaboration is to identify potent, selective, orally bioavailable small molecules that inhibit PTP1B activity in vivo following stimulation by insulin and leptin, which would be expected to overcome insulin and leptin resistance that is encountered in diabetes and obesity. Scientists at CSHL and GSK will pursue the drug development based on a novel approach to regulate the enzymatic activity of the phosphatase PTP1B.
A spokesman for CSHL told Outsourcing-Pharma.com the research collaboration “is expected to last about three years,” though it “could be longer if a successful therapy candidate is identified.” And as far as pay out, if a candidate identified in the collaboration becomes a product, CSHL would receive a royalty on the sales of that product, he added.
The work at CSHL will be led by Professor Nicholas Tonks, who discovered PTP1B and is an expert on the protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP) family of enzymes and their roles in human diseases.
“At GSK, we believe that combining the in-depth target and disease knowledge of renowned academic groups with our drug-discovery expertise and capabilities can foster innovation and speed up the discovery and development of new medicines,” said Carolyn Buser, global head of The Discovery Partnership with Academia program (DPAc) at GSK. “We are excited to expand our partnerships in North America and look forward to working closely with Dr. Tonks, whose deep understanding of protein tyrosine phosphatase biology will complement our own work in this field.”
This collaboration would be one of 13 DPAc collaborations that GSK has in place at academic research institutions in North America and Europe.
GSK and CSHL also will provide project co-leadership across different sets of expertise to facilitate the development of novel therapeutics.