Leo Pharma to develop skin disorder drug

Leo Pharma was granted exclusive worldwide rights to develop, manufacture, and commercialize this novel preclinical HDAC inhibitor for the treatment of psoriasis and other dermatological disorders.

Under the terms of the agreement, TopoTarget will receive initial payments totaling approximately $2.6 million. In addition, TopoTarget is eligible to receive additional milestone payments of up to approximately $40.8 million. CuraGen will also receive 50% of all payments received by TopoTarget.

“We are very content with the ongoing collaboration with CuraGen to further develop our library of preclinical HDAC inhibitors,” said Dr Peter Buhl Jensen, CEO of TopoTarget.

The compound was developed under an ongoing future products program between CuraGen and TopoTarget aimed at identifying promising HDAC inhibitors. HDAC inhibitors work by altering levels of gene transcription and have been shown to regulate multiple key processes involved in cancer and inflammatory diseases, as well as other indications.