On June 9, 2022 Alloy Therapeutics, a biotechnology ecosystem company, reported a collaboration and licensing agreement with Sudhir Agrawal’s Arnay Sciences to advance new RNA-based drug discovery platforms and novel chemistries spanning the fields of antisense therapeutics to immunomodulating therapeutics (Press release, Alloy Therapeutics, JUN 9, 2022, View Source [SID1234615811]). The collaboration demonstrates Alloy’s dedication to expanding its ecosystem offerings into genetic medicines. In collaboration with Dr. Agrawal, Alloy will advance the core technology platforms developed by Arnay into a multitude of new applications, which will initially be available to new companies formed within its Venture Studio, 82VS. Dr. Agrawal will also serve as the Scientific Advisory Board chair of Alloy’s genetic medicine platform technologies.
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For over three decades, Dr. Agrawal has spent his career innovating in RNA therapeutics spanning antisense and immune modulation, starting in the laboratory of the "father of antisense," Paul Zamecnik. Dr. Agrawal has published over 300 research papers and has co-authored over 400 patents worldwide, including the invention of gapmer antisense technology widely employed in antisense candidates and approved drugs. He also serves as an affiliate professor at UMass Chan Medical School, as a business advisor to Harvard Medical School’s Initiative for RNA Medicine, and is on the scientific advisory boards of Dyne Therapeutics, QurAlis, Q-State Biosciences, Lytix Biopharma, Envisagenics, HAYA Therapeutics, Bolden Therapeutics, Maze Therapeutics, the Dan Lewis Foundation for Brain Regeneration Research, and two ASO-focused 82VS companies, Aldebaran Therapeutics and Restoration Biosciences.
The licensing agreement with Arnay will enable Alloy to provide the drug discovery community non-exclusive access to RNA-based drug discovery platforms and chemistries through the successful democratization model already deployed for antibody therapeutics, through Alloy’s ATX-Gx mouse and its DeepImmune fully integrated Antibody Discovery Services. Alloy’s expansion into genetic medicines is specifically designed to meet the increased interest and momentum in the RNA therapy industry by enabling drug discovery teams to innovate efficiently through unparalleled access and generous terms.
"Working with Alloy represents an opportunity to make genetic medicines available to the widest possible community of innovators and drug developers around the globe, all thanks to Alloy’s model of democratizing access to foundational discovery tools," said Dr. Agrawal. "It has been my unique pleasure to work with Alloy, and I look forward to further advancing the new platforms with the Alloy team and leveraging their expertise in providing the community access to technology platforms. The cohesive integration of platform licensing, Discovery Services, and Venture Studios that Alloy has created will enable industry collaborators to more rapidly advance innovative therapeutics that ultimately benefit patients."
Alloy was founded in 2017 by Errik Anderson—co-founder of Adimab, Compass Therapeutics, Alector, Avitide, and Arsanis, among other companies—to minimize the intense capital requirements and timelines of biotech company formation and discovery campaigns. He recognized the need to democratize foundational platforms and tools typically made inaccessible through high-access fees and cumbersome development milestones and royalties. Through accessible licensing activities with its flagship ATX-Gx mouse, a transgenic humanized mouse that produces fully human antibodies, the company has amassed more than 130 partnerships across academia, biotech, and large biopharma. It continues to expand its technology portfolio and service offering to support a broader range of drug discovery and development teams.
"We have seen the impact of disruptive access in our antibody discovery offering and are thrilled to build upon this model to serve developers of genetic medicines better," says Errik Anderson, Alloy CEO and founder. "We were delighted to learn a seminal figure in genetic medicine therapies like Sudhir was aligned with our mission to democratize enabling, pre-competitive technologies. We look forward to seeing the therapeutic innovation this collaboration spurs across the global scientific community."
Dr. Agrawal has leveraged his decades of experience to develop novel chemistries and structures for RNA therapeutics. These breakthrough platforms are designed to address limitations of currently used chemistries, such as specificity, off-target effects, delivery, and unintended inflammatory responses. Dr. Agrawal’s RNA-based drug discovery platforms have broad applications in developing antisense therapeutics by targeting RNA, including mRNA, pre-mRNA, microRNA, and ncRNA, and for immune-modulation therapeutics. These platforms strengthen Alloy’s ability to help its partners address a vast range of drug discovery challenges in creating genetic medicines. Alloy intends to provide broad access to these technologies and platforms as part of their larger Innovation Subscription offerings and through individual, non-exclusive licensing activities. Initially, the new genetic medicines platforms and services will be exclusively available through company collaborations within 82VS portfolio companies.
"Our Venture Studio model facilitates Alloy’s expansion of new modalities by enabling our portfolio companies to access and de-risk new technologies, yet not be beholden to using an unproven approach," said Dr. Chris Pacheco, General Partner at 82VS. "This work provides our 82VS portfolio companies the upside of accessing new, cutting-edge technologies at the earliest stage of the company development. This access is unprecedented in the industry and gives our companies a significant advantage in developing the best medicines. Inside the ecosystem, we have created win-win scenarios for Alloy, 82VS companies, technology developers, and, in the end, patients. And isn’t that what we are all trying to do in the end?"
Arnay has pending patent applications claiming these technologies. Alloy has gained exclusive rights to these patents for internal use and for sublicensing. Under the licensing agreement, Alloy will pay an upfront fee and will share sublicensing income with Arnay.