Consortium Backs Netherton Syndrome Project From Sinai Health
TORONTO, May 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Toronto Innovation Acceleration Partners (TIAP), Evotec SE and AmorChem II Fund L.P. (AmorChem) are pleased to announce a $1.75M investment into a drug development project focused on a rare skin disease called Netherton Syndrome, that affects one in 200,000 newborns worldwide.
The project was initiated in partnership with a group of scientists from Sinai Health’s Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute (LTRI) in Toronto, Canada and focuses on a specific group of enzymes called tissue kallikreins. These proteins play a critical role in development of Netherton Syndrome and other skin inflammatory diseases. In 2018, TIAP and Evotec, through their drug discovery acceleration platform LAB150, provided funding, medicinal chemistry expertise, project management and business development support to advance initial efforts.
With $1.75M additional financing from the consortium, the project will now complete crucial pre-clinical studies including lead optimization with the goal of generating a kallikrein-targeting candidate for IND-enabling studies by 2021.
According to lead project scientist Dr. Ioannis Prassas at LTRI, the novel kallikrein-focused approach holds promise for treating Netherton Syndrome and, more broadly, atopic inflammatory dermatitis. “The identification of skin kallikreins as key driver molecules in the pathology of various skin inflammatory diseases has created exciting new opportunities for novel kallikrein-targeting therapeutics,” Prassas said.