Connexios Life Sciences, a Bangalore-based biotechnology company, has entered into an exclusive global research collaboration agreement with German pharma company Boehringer Ingelheim for AMPK agonists for the treatment of patients with type 2 diabetes, as per a press statement.
As per the agreement, Boehringer Ingelheim will obtain global rights to CNX-012, Connexios’ programme on AMPK activators.
The programme includes CNX-570 and other compounds in early pre-clinical development. Boehringer Ingelheim will be responsible for all further development and commercialisation of the candidates from the AMPK programme.
Further terms and financial details were not disclosed.
"As a pure research-driven organisation from India, we believe that the agreement with Boehringer Ingelheim is a big validation of our scientific approach and capabilities as well as of our business model, "said Suri Venkatachalam, CEO and founder of Connexios.
Connexios is an early stage drug discovery and development company powered by a unique network biology platform. It is pursuing several programmes at different stages of preclinical discovery and development for metabolic disease and diseases related to NASH and Fibrosis, while also seeking to progress some of its candidates for T2DM and metabolic disorders into the clinic.
CNX-012-570 is the lead candidate from the Connexios programme of AMPK activators that directly activate specific isoforms of the protein, designed and selected to bring about a robust impact on the cellular energetics and redox balance across key cell types and tissues. Connexios has shown beneficial outcomes from target modulation across the liver, muscle, adipose and other relevant tissues in preclinical studies across several animal models of disease. The CNX-012 programme comprises several other compounds like CNX-012-570 which cover a wide chemistry and patent space.
The company had previously raised funding from Nadathur Estates Pvt. Ltd.(formerly Nadathur Holdings and Investments Pvt. Ltd.), a private investment vehicle for NS Raghavan, co-founder and former joint managing director of Infosys.
It provides capital from early-stage to late-stage and from private companies to public companies operating in India. The Bangalore-based firm seeks to invest in education, information technology, bio-technology, real-estate and healthcare sectors.
(Edited by Joby Puthuparampil Johnson)
