Korean biotech startup Azcuris will embark on joint research with British drugmaker AstraZeneca to discover small-molecule medicines for respiratory diseases and Th2 (type 2 helper T cell)-mediated diseases. Th2-mediated diseases include asthma, atopic dermatitis, and allergic rhinitis.
It is meaningful that a Korean biotech startup will collaborate with a global big pharma on the strength of its own technology.
Azcuris said on the 14th that it signed a joint research agreement with AstraZeneca to discover small-molecule drugs. The parties did not disclose the financial terms, including the upfront payment and milestones, by mutual agreement.
Azcuris is a biotech startup that began in 2018 in a Korea University College of Pharmacy lab and is developing small-molecule drugs focused on immune and inflammatory diseases. Founder Jeon Young-ho, the chief executive, is a Korea University College of Pharmacy professor who has conducted new drug research and development at LG Life Sciences, CrystalGenomics, and the Korea Basic Science Institute (KBSI).
Under the agreement, the two companies will conduct joint research on drug candidates based on new inflammation-related targets discovered by Azcuris. The joint research will use Azcuris's protein-protein interaction (PPI)-based drug discovery platform.
For candidates secured through the joint research, AstraZeneca holds an option to obtain an exclusive license for further development and commercialization.
PPI is a drug development approach that targets interactions between proteins. It treats diseases by modulating specific protein-protein interactions. Although development had been difficult due to high technical hurdles, recent advances in AI and protein structure analysis are increasing the prospects for new drug development.
Azcuris is pursuing the development of oral small-molecule therapeutics that can replace existing antibody therapies by discovering candidates that precisely modulate PPIs.
Jeon Young-ho, Azcuris's chief executive, said, "This joint research is highly meaningful in that our capabilities in research and development accumulated in immune diseases and our structure-based drug discovery platform technology have been recognized as competitive by a global pharmaceutical company," and added, "We will work closely with AstraZeneca to discover innovative drug candidates that address unmet medical needs in respiratory diseases and carry them forward to global new drug development."