MARSEILLE, France--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Vect-Horus S.A.S. (Marseille, France) announced today that Vect-Horus and Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Osaka, Japan) signed a collaboration and license agreement, focused on the development of novel molecules targeting neurodegenerative diseases.
Under the agreement, Vect-Horus will receive research fees, success-based milestones on the research and development progress, as well as royalties on sales of the products.
Vect-Horus will apply its proprietary VECTrans® technology, which facilitates the transport of drugs into the brain, to Ono’s therapeutic molecules. Vect-Horus will utilize its expertise to conjugate these therapeutic molecules with its peptide vectors and demonstrate improved brain uptake and efficacy in animals. Ono will have worldwide exclusive rights to develop and commercialize any pharmaceutical products arising out of the drug discovery collaboration.
“We are delighted to partner with Ono, one of the oldest pharmaceutical companies in the world and an important developer of innovative drugs,” commented Alexandre Tokay, Chief Executive Officer and cofounder of Vect-Horus. “Our agreement with Ono strengthens our long-standing commitment to improve, using our technology, the brain delivery of therapeutic molecules and bring forward novel therapies that address critical unmet needs.”
About Vect-Horus
Vect-Horus designs and develops vectors
that facilitate targeting and delivery of therapeutic or imaging agents
to organs, including the brain and tumors. Vect-Horus combines these
different agents to its vectors that specifically target various
receptors, allowing these agents to cross natural barriers (including
the blood-brain-barrier) which limit access of therapeutic or imaging
agents to their targets. The proof of concept of the technology has
already been established in animal models using different vectorized
molecules.
Created in 2005, Vect-Horus is a spin-off of the
Institute for Neurophysiopathology (INP, UMR7051, CNRS and Aix Marseille
University), headed by Dr Michel Khrestchatisky, co-founder. To learn
more about Vect-Horus, visit www.vect-horus.com.