LEO Pharma and X-Chem Enter Into Discovery Research Agreement

Multi-target Collaboration to Focus on Identification of Novel Small Molecules for Anti- inflammatory Applications

BALLERUP, Denmark & WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--LEO Pharma A/S, a global leader in medical dermatology and X-Chem, Inc., the global leader in DNA-encoded library (DEL) driven discovery solutions, announced today that they have entered into a research collaboration and license agreement. The goal of the collaboration is to discover and develop novel treatments for dermatological indications.

Under the terms of the agreement, X-Chem will deploy its proprietary DEL platform to identify novel drug-like leads against multiple inflammation targets of interest to LEO Pharma. LEO Pharma has the option to receive exclusive global rights to compounds derived from the partnership and will be responsible for preclinical and clinical research and development. LEO Pharma also retains all rights to commercialization of any potential new medicines emerging from the collaboration.

“At LEO Pharma, we are dedicated to changing the standards of care for people with skin diseases by bringing new innovative treatments forward that are either first or best in class. Supporting this ambition, we are excited to work with the X-Chem team to identify novel small molecule drug leads,” said Thorsten Thormann, Head of Research and early Development. “X-Chem’s DEL platform technology is a powerful approach giving us increased capabilities to feed our innovative project portfolio.”

X-Chem CEO Matt Clark, Ph.D., said, "We are delighted to partner with LEO Pharma, a global leader in medical dermatology R&D. We look forward to a productive partnership with many tractable drug leads.”

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About LEO Pharma
LEO Pharma helps people achieve healthy skin. The company is a leader in medical dermatology with a robust R&D pipeline, a wide range of therapies and a pioneering spirit. Founded in 1908 and owned by the LEO Foundation, LEO Pharma has devoted decades of research and development to advance the science of dermatology, setting new standards of care for people with skin conditions. LEO Pharma is headquartered in Denmark with a global team of 6,000 people, serving 93 million patients in 130 countries. In 2020, the company generated net sales of DKK 10,133 million. For more information please visit www.LEO-Pharma.com.

About X-Chem
X-Chem, Inc. is the leader in small molecule discovery science, providing pharmaceutical and biotech companies a complete, seamless solution for screening, hit validation and lead optimization. As pioneers of DNA-encoded chemical library (DEL) technology, the company leverages its market-leading DEL platform to discover novel small molecule leads against challenging, high-value therapeutic targets. X-Chem empowers partners to rapidly screen billions of diverse, drug-like compounds simultaneously and easily identify potent hits that exhibit desired selectivity and mode of action with attractive physicochemical properties. In-house lead optimization services enable clients to progress their compounds directly for even higher quality outputs. Our expertise in medicinal chemistry, custom synthesis and scale-up process chemistry enables us to support all aspects of drug discovery, supporting lead optimization through candidate identification.
For more about X-Chem, visit x-chemrx.com.