Dong-A ST and Beactica Announce Licence and Collaboration Agreement to Develop New Cancer Treatments

PR66278

SEOUL, South Korea and UPPSALA, Sweden, Oct. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

      Dong-A ST Co., Ltd. (170900: Korea SE), the Korean pharmaceutical company,

and Beactica AB, the Swedish fragment-based drug discovery company, today

announced a new multi-year research and drug discovery collaboration and

licensing agreement. Beactica and Dong-A ST will jointly develop novel

anti-cancer drugs against certain disease-related oncology targets.

     (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161025/432449 )

    Under the terms of the agreement, Dong-A ST will gain exclusive global

rights for the further development and commercialization of Beactica's small

molecule inhibitors against multiple members of a family of epigenetic enzymes.

The partnership will pool existing compound series from both companies and

combine Beactica's unique early-stage lead generation capabilities with DONG-A

ST's strengths in downstream pre-clinical and clinical development of new

therapeutic agents.

    Beactica will receive an undisclosed upfront payment and is eligible to

receive research funding as well as potential milestone payments for certain

research, preclinical, clinical and regulatory milestones. In addition,

Beactica is eligible to receive royalties on commercial sales of the products

resulting from the partnership. Beactica is also entitled to a revenue share

from any related future licensing activities by Dong-A. Full financial details

remain undisclosed.

    "This global research collaboration between Dong-A ST and Beactica which

specializes in developing novel drug targets marks a big step forward in

development of next generation anti-cancer therapeutics" said Dr Soo-Hyoung

Kang, President and CEO of Dong-A ST. "This collaboration and licensing of

Beactica's small molecule inhibitors will greatly strengthen Dong-A ST's

current oncology pipeline and will further enhance Dong-A ST's global

competitiveness in the pharmaceutical industry."

    "We've been impressed by Dong-A's commitment to benefiting cancer patients

through therapeutics that modulate epigenetic pathways and are excited to

initiate this collaboration." said Dr Per Kallblad, CEO of Beactica. "This is a

ground-breaking partnership in terms of structure, scope and the potential

clinical impact of therapeutics created through our complementary capabilities."

    Epigenetics is the study of physiological changes caused by altered gene

expressions originating from inherited changes other than the DNA sequence

itself. Cancer epigenetics is a rapidly emerging research area with potential

to provide new treatments for patients by modifying DNA and chromatin, both of

which play important roles in tumour development.

    About Dong-A ST

    Dong-A ST Co., Ltd. specializes in the discovery, development, manufacture

and markets pharmaceutical products and medical devices worldwide. The company

offers various ethical drugs, including Stillen (Gastritis 2002); Zydena

(Erectile dysfunction treatment, 2005); Motilitone (Functional dyspepsia,

2011); Suganon (DPP-4 inhibitor, 2016) as well as biologics and biosimilar

products. Once-daily IV/oral Sivextro (Tedizolid, ABSSSI) was also developed by

Dong-A ST which was approved by US FDA and launched in US (2014) and EU (2015)

by global partner.

    Dong-A ST has a strong oncology R&D division with immuno-oncology and

epigenetic pipeline. Dong-A ST Co., Ltd. was founded in 1932 and is

headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. It is listed on the Korean stock exchange.

For more information, visit http://www.donga-st.com.

    About Beactica

    Beactica AB is a specialist drug discovery company, utilising its

proprietary methodologies to evaluate the interactions of molecules in order to

generate novel therapeutics. As well as progressing its own drug discovery

programmes, Beactica offers partnerships for fragment-based lead generation

using its proprietary discovery platform. Founded in 2006 based on research

carried out at Uppsala University, Beactica has established a reputation as the

leader in fragment-based drug discovery using SPR biosensor technology. For

more information, please visit http://www.beactica.com.

SOURCE: Dong-A ST Co., Ltd and Beactica AB