FORMA Thera and CRT create two virtual companies

Privately-held US firm FORMA Therapeutics and the UK’s Cancer Research Technology have established two new virtual asset discovery and development companies (ADDCos) with novel chemical matter targeting undisclosed deubiquitinating enzymes (DUBs).

ADDCos are virtual companies seeking to achieve rapid innovation in a compelling scientific area through the collaboration of academic thought leaders, FORMA drug discovery scientists and a world class development network.

This builds on an ongoing initiative between FORMA and CRT, the commercial arm of Cancer Research UK, to discover innovative tools, technologies and therapeutic drug candidates against a variety of DUBs that regulate protein homeostasis. Under their agreement, FORMA is pairing its ultra-efficient drug discovery capabilities with expertise from CRT’s Discovery Laboratories (CRT-DL) in translating academic discoveries and the exclusive world class academic network of Cancer Research UK scientists.

Protein ubiquitination, a highly regulated cellular process controlled in part by DUBs to maintain protein homeostasis with appropriate protein levels and function, contributes to a large number of wide-ranging human diseases when aberrantly dysregulated. DUBs, as members of diverse protein complexes, are key regulators of ubiquitin recycling, processing, proofreading and disassembly. DUBs contain a catalytic domain surrounded by one or more accessory domains, some of which contribute to target recognition, and collectively represent molecular features ideally suited for therapeutic intervention.

“DUBs continue to prove to be highly attractive drug discovery targets warranting further exploration,” stated Steven Tregay, president and chief executive of FORMA Therapeutics. “A tremendous impact has been made by organizing diverse scientific disciplines within a consortia framework to advance protein homeostasis research and discoveries into active research. Additionally, this partnership's discovery programs, by virtue of structural and computational insights, have already helped accelerate new advances in medicinal chemistry," he added.