Drug discovery services provider, Domainex, entered a partnership agreement with Lunac Therapeutics, in an aim to support the latter discover anticoagulant therapies that have a reduced risk of bleeding compared to current therapies.
A spin-out of the University of Leeds, Lunac, has validated a protease target, activated ‘Factor XII’, that is implicated in the formation of pathological clots, but not the stemming of bleeding.
The company’s research has identified that individuals who lack this factor do not exhibit bleeding symptoms unlike those with a deficiency in any other coagulation factor.
Scientific founder of Lunac, Helen Philippou, said that the anticipated discovery answers an ‘urgent need’ for anticoagulant therapies with reduced bleeding risk, adding that targeting activated Factor XII may lead to differentiated therapies and a new treatment option for patients.
The partnership will see Domainex provide structure-guided medicinal chemistry and biochemical screening, as well as drug metabolism, safety and pharmacokinetic assessment of the potential candidates.
Upon discovery of the potential target inhibitor, the partners plan to advance the project efficiently into pre-clinical development and ultimately to clinical evaluation.
Lunac’s discovery project is backed by funding of £2.65m ($3.42m) raised during its Series A financing round, as well as of £3.14m ($4.05m) from the Innovate UK’s Biomedical Catalyst program.