Advertise With UsAdvertise on our extensive network of industry websites and newsletters.
Get the PBR newsletterSign up to our free email to get all the latest PBR
news.MethylGene and its collaborator EnVivo Pharmaceuticals have entered into an agreement with the non-profit organization CHDI, to discover and develop treatments for Huntington's disease.
Subscribe to our email newsletter
In this collaboration, CHDI will provide financial and preclinical research support to enhance the collaboration between MethylGene and EnVivo in order to progress histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors for the treatment of Huntington’s disease. MethylGene and EnVivo formed a collaboration in February, 2005, focused on MethylGene’s HDAC technology for use in neurodegenerative diseases.
Under terms of the agreement, CHDI will provide MethylGene with up to $1.5 million in initial funding for the identification, design and synthesis of new isotype-selective HDAC inhibitors for potential use in treating Huntington’s disease. MethylGene and EnVivo retain the exclusive right to develop and commercialize any clinical candidates that arise from the collaboration.
“We are pleased that CHDI, a foundation devoted to discovering treatments for Huntington’s disease, recognizes the potential of MethylGene’s HDAC inhibitors for this indication,” said Donald Corcoran, president and CEO of MethylGene.
There is a growing body of scientific literature suggesting that inhibition of HDAC enzymes hold promising therapeutic potential for Huntington’s by increasing acetylation in the brain and ameliorating the neuronal deficits in animal models.
“MethylGene and EnVivo have already made great progress toward delivering a promising first-generation HDAC inhibitor for preclinical development next year,” added Kees Been, president and CEO of EnVivo Pharmaceuticals.
“This collaboration with the CHDI will now allow us to develop exciting new second-generation compounds.”