Almirall and X-Chem Team Up to Develop Oral Compounds for Dermatological Diseases

Almirall, S.A. signed a collaborative research and license agreement with the X-Chem, Inc. for the development of oral compounds for patients suffering from dermatological diseases, a strategic area for Almirall. X-Chem, Inc. is a privately held biotechnology company focused on applying its industry-leading DNA-encoded library (DEX) drug discovery engine to the generation of novel small molecule therapeutics.
This collaboration will enrich Almirall’s R&D pipeline with the development of new solutions for patients with dermatological unmet medical needs. Under the terms of the agreement, X-Chem will screen its proprietary DEX libraries, which contain >120 billion individually DNA-encoded small molecules, toward the discovery of novel, high-value therapeutic leads for dermatological diseases. Almirall will subsequently assess the biochemical and/or cellular activity, novelty of the structures, and in some cases advanced properties. Almirall has the option to license drug leads discovered under the collaboration, and will be responsible for further development and commercialization of the resulting programs.
Bhushan Hardas, MD, MBA, Chief Scientific Officer of Almirall,says, “This agreement takes us one step further in our goal of becoming a leading medical dermatology company. With the cutting edge technology offered by X-Chem and our strong knowledge of the area of dermatology, we will be able to broaden our pipeline and provide further medical solutions for the physicians and patients, specially designed for dermatological diseases with unmet medical needs”.
Rick Wagner, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of X-Chem, adds, “The treatment of skin disease is an important field of research with unmet medical needs. We are delighted to align with Almirall, a leader in dermatology, to apply our DEX platform to the discovery of new treatments for patients worldwide”.