Neurocrine Biosciences and Jnana Therapeutics Enter Strategic Collaboration to Discover Novel Medicines to Treat Central Nervous System Disorders

SAN DIEGO and BOSTON, Oct. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: NBIX) and Jnana Therapeutics Inc. today announced that they have entered into a research collaboration aimed at discovering novel small molecule therapeutics for multiple targets for central nervous system (CNS) disorders. The collaboration will leverage Jnana's proprietary drug discovery platform across the solute carrier (SLC) family of transporters and Neurocrine's research and development expertise in CNS disorders to advance new medicines.

Under the terms of the agreement, Neurocrine and Jnana will work jointly to identify novel compounds, after which time Neurocrine will be responsible for further lead optimization, and the development and commercialization of any potential therapies arising from the collaboration. Neurocrine will also provide Jnana with one-time access to a subset of its compound library for Jnana to screen for hits on a select number of non-CNS targets. As part of the collaboration, Jnana will receive an up-front payment and committed research funding to support discovery efforts. In addition, Jnana is eligible to receive milestone payments and royalties based upon products resulting from this collaboration.

"We are excited to partner with Jnana Therapeutics as their proprietary drug discovery platform complements our commitment to neuroscience innovation," said Dimitri E. Grigoriadis, Ph.D., Chief Research Officer. "At Neurocrine, we have extensive experience in developing new medicines targeted to the solute carrier family of transporters, such as VMAT2, which led to the discovery of valbenazine. We look forward to working with Jnana to discover important new medicines for patients with central nervous system disorders."

"We are very pleased to be entering into this strategic collaboration with Neurocrine Biosciences. Their deep knowledge in neuroscience and of the solute carrier family of transporters makes them an ideal partner as we work together to discover new medicines to treat CNS disorders," said Joel Barrish, Ph.D., Cofounder and Chief Scientific Officer at Jnana. "This collaboration also demonstrates Neurocrine's confidence in Jnana's proprietary small molecule platform to address therapeutic targets rapidly and comprehensively across the SLC transporter family." 

About the Solute Carrier (SLC) Family of Transporters
The SLC family of metabolite transporters is a supergroup of membrane proteins comprising more than 400 members arranged across more than 50 families. SLCs are the gatekeepers for metabolite pathways, controlling the movement of metabolites in and out of cells and organelles. As regulators of the location of hundreds of metabolites, which serve as important communication channels for cells, SLCs play a crucial role in health and disease.

About Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc.
Neurocrine Biosciences, a San Diego based biopharmaceutical company, is focused on developing treatments for neurological and endocrine related disorders. The company discovered, developed and markets INGREZZA^® (valbenazine) capsules, the first FDA-approved product indicated for the treatment of adults with tardive dyskinesia, a movement disorder. Discovered and developed through Phase II clinical trials by Neurocrine, ORILISSA™ (elagolix), the first FDA-approved oral medication for the management of endometriosis with associated moderate to severe pain in over a decade, is marketed by AbbVie as part of a collaboration to develop and commercialize elagolix for women's health. Neurocrine's clinical development programs include opicapone as an adjunctive therapy to levodopa/DOPA decarboxylase inhibitors in Parkinson's disease patients, elagolix for uterine fibroids with AbbVie, valbenazine for the treatment of Tourette syndrome, and NBI-74788 for the treatment of congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH). For more information and the latest updates from Neurocrine Biosciences, please visit www.neurocrine.com.

About Jnana Therapeutics Inc.
Jnana Therapeutics is a biotechnology company creating the first drug discovery platform to unlock the solute carrier (SLC) family of metabolite transporters as a therapeutic target class. Jnana is systematically targeting SLCs, the cell's metabolic gates, to advance first-in-class therapies for diseases where patients have limited or no treatment options. Headquartered in Boston, Jnana launched in 2017 with $50 million in Series A financing from investors including Polaris Partners, Avalon Ventures, Versant Ventures, AbbVie Ventures and Pfizer R&D Innovate. For more information, please visit www.jnanatx.com, and follow us on Twitter and on LinkedIn.

Neurocrine Biosciences Forward-Looking Statements
In addition to historical facts, this press release contains forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. These statements include, but are not limited to: statements related to the potential benefits to be derived from the Jnana collaboration agreement, including any statements related to Jnana's proprietary small molecule platform; Neurocrine's research and development expertise with respect to CNS disorders and Neurocrine's ability to develop and commercialize new medicines to treat CNS disorders; and the ability of Neurocrine and Jnana to identify novel compounds for development and Neurocrine's ability to further optimize, develop and commercialize such compounds. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements are those that are described in the Company's periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including without limitation the Company's quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2018. Neurocrine disclaims any obligation to update the statements contained in this press release after the date hereof.

SOURCE Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc.

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