Astellas collaborates with Generian on undruggable targets

Privately-held US biotech Generian Pharmaceuticals has entered into a collaboration and exclusive license agreement with Japanese drug major Astellas Pharma’s (TYO: 4503) Mitobridge subsidiary, to discover and develop novel small molecules for undruggable therapeutic targets by using a proprietary drug discovery platform for diseases that have limited treatment options.

This is the second licensing deal for Astellas in as many days, having on Tuesday announced an around $500 million partnership with USA-based drug developer Sutro Biopharma (Nasdaq: STRO), and the third so far this month.

Under the terms of the latest accord, the companies will jointly conduct research and pre-clinical development activities to identify novel monovalent small molecules that modulate target proteins through activation, stabilization or degradation as potential development candidates. Astellas will be solely responsible for clinical development, manufacturing and commercialization of all products arising from the joint research activities.