Engitix and Dompé collaboration for fibrosis and cancer AI drug discovery

pharmafile | January 19, 2022 | News story | Research and Development  

Engitix has announced the close of its $54m Series A financing, as well as a strategic collaboration, with Dompé farmaceutici S.P.A. Engetix is a biopharmaceutical company with a pioneering  and proprietary human extracellular matrix drug target discovery platform. This multi-year, multi-programme strategic collaboration with Dompé will support Engitix’s transition to a biopharmaceutical product company. 

The agreement with Dompé, a biopharmaceutical company with next-generation chemo- and bioinformatic tools, and an AI-driven drug discovery platform to deliver precision engineered medicines, includes both equity investment and a multi-year, multi-programme strategic R&D collaboration. This collaboration will support identification of new treatments against fibrosis and liver-associated solid tumours.

Dompé will provide direct access to facilities, resources and expertise, including its Exscalate structure-based drug design platform. This platform utilises the capabilities of the Italian supercomputer centre, CINECA, to accelerate its own drug discovery and development.

Engitix has established a portfolio of internal programmes in primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and liver metastasis, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), as well as partnered drug discovery programmes in fibrosis and solid tumours using its ECM platform. The financing will be used to invest in Engitix’s internal drug discovery pipeline through IND-enabling studies, expand its ECM discovery platform and bioinformatics capabilities into new therapeutic areas, and to expand its team, facilities and operations. 

Marcello Allegretti, CSO of Dompé commented: “Our mission is to improve people’s lives and we partner with the best academic and industrial groups to accelerate the research that will bring new solutions to patients’ unmet needs. We look forward to working with the Engitix team to combine the power of Exscalate with Engitix’s deep understanding of the biology of the fibrosis and solid tumours microenvironment and the unique strength of its ECM platform. Our collaboration will enable us to accelerate the clinical translation of targets beyond our four key in-house therapeutic areas of ophthalmology, metabolic disorders, oncology, and pain management.”

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