Cerenis and Nippon collaborate on “good cholesterol” elevator

Discovery and development of new molecule therapies will be based on PPAR (peroxisome proliferator activated receptor) delta agonists which have been shown to play a role in elevating levels of “good cholesterol.”

Nippon Chemiphar will retain development and marketing rights in Asia for any new product candidates developed through this licensing agreement. Cerenis will be granted exclusive development and commercialization rights in the US, Europe and other markets outside Asia. Cerenis will make milestone payments of up to $30 million to Chemiphar during the R&D stage and will make royalty payments based on sales, after marketing.

Cerenis will have access to a broad range of PPAR delta agonists for use in R&D of HDL therapies with the potential to help reduce cholesterol buildup through a natural process known as reverse lipid transport.

“PPAR delta agonists represent a very promising area of research that could lead to novel oral HDL therapies in the years ahead. This agreement positions Cerenis to move forward in this area of research, which represents an important complement to our other HDL-focused research and product development initiatives,” said Dr Jean-Louis Dasseux, president and CEO, Cerenis Therapeutics.