Ovid Therapeutics, a biopharma firm focused on neurological diseases, and Healx, the AI-based drug discovery company, have signed a commercial partnership.
Healx has secured from Ovid an exclusive option to license rights to develop and commercialise gaboxadol, which has previously been tested as a monotherapy for Fragile X syndrome; a genetic brain disease which affects roughly one in 4,000 males and 8,000 females, causing a range of developmental problems including behavioural problems and cognitive impairment.
Healx will now seek to find an optimal treatment for the condition by combining gaboxadol with other compounds, including HLX-0201, that have been identified by the company’s proprietary AI platform, Healnet.
Alongside the initial focus on Fragile X syndrome, Healx plans to use its “indication expansion technology” to identify other conditions that could also be treated by gaboxadol.
Under the agreement, Healx plans to investigate the compound as part of a potential combination therapy for Fragile X syndrome, as well as a treatment for other indications.
“Gaboxadol shows encouraging activity and a good safety profile in a range of conditions. We are keen to see its clinical value unlocked,” said Jeremy Levin, Chairman and CEO of Ovid Therapeutics.
“We’re impressed by the capabilities that Healx has developed and are optimistic that they can unlock effective drug combinations that will take advantage of the unique mechanism that underlies the effects we see when patients take gaboxadol.”
Dr. Tim Guilliams, co-founder and CEO at Healx, said: “This agreement represents an exciting opportunity for Healx to advance more potential treatments for rare conditions towards the clinic, and, hopefully, deliver them to patients in need.
“We are excited to be deploying our innovative combination and indication expansion methods to identify new therapeutic opportunities for compounds like gaboxadol.”
Should Healx exercise its option, Ovid will receive milestone payments for specific clinical, regulatory, and commercial achievements associated with gaboxadol’s development.
Additionally, Healx will pay Ovid tiered royalties on net sales associated with marketed therapies containing gaboxadol.
Ovid will retain the option to become Healx’s co-development and co-commercialisation partner and will share net profits and losses in lieu of the milestones and royalty payments. Ovid does not plan to conduct further trials with gaboxadol.
This collaboration with Ovid follows Healx’s announcement last year that it had entered an indication expansion partnership with Japan-based Ono Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.
Founded in Cambridge, UK, in 2014 by Dr. Tim Guilliams, a biochemical engineer and tech entrepreneur, and Dr. David Brown, co-inventor of Viagra and former global head of drug discovery at Roche, Healx has raised around US$70 million to date, building a team of over 100 tech and drug discovery experts.
