The therapeutic potential will be unlocked by combining ArQule’s chemistry and drug development expertise with Beryllium’s discovery platforms, which integrate structure-guided drug discovery, biophysics and cell biology.
The therapeutic targets to be pursued by the companies include PD-1 and PDL-1, two proteins believed to play important roles in suppressing or limiting the response of the immune system.
Molecules that bind to and inhibit the effects of these targets may help direct the immune system to combat a variety of tumors.
ArQule chief medical officer Brian Schwartz said: "We are excited by the potential synergy in combining complementary technologies and expertise to pursue cost-effective, shared-risk development pathways for the selection of compounds identified from ArQule’s small molecule library or rationally designed through Beryllium’s fragment-based research capabilities and ArQule chemistry technology."
Beryllium chief scientific officer Dalia Cohen said: "ArQule’s chemistry know-how and clinical development expertise are a perfect complement to Beryllium’s strengths in target-centric drug discovery."
ArQule is engaged in the research and development of next-generation, small-molecule cancer therapeutics, while its targeted, broad-spectrum products and research programs are focused on key biological processes that are central to human cancers.
Its lead product tivantinib (ARQ 197), an oral, selective inhibitor of the c-MET receptor tyrosine kinase, is currently in Phase II and Phase III clinical development.