PharmEnable announces multi-target collaboration with Denali Therapeutics in neurodegenerative disease

-  The strategic collaboration aims to accelerate drug discovery in neurodegenerative disease

-  Joint research programmes against multiple undisclosed targets to be initiated over the next two years

-  PharmEnable to receive an upfront cash payment and potential milestone payments

CAMBRIDGE, England, May 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- PharmEnable, an AI drug-discovery company mapping unexplored chemical space to deliver innovative medicines, has announced a collaboration with Denali Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company developing a broad portfolio of product candidates engineered to cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB) for neurodegenerative diseases. 

In this collaboration, PharmEnable will leverage its proprietary AI drug discovery platform with Denali's expertise in delivery across the BBB and neurodegeneration to identify therapeutically relevant small molecule chemical matter against challenging targets. The strategic collaboration will aim to accelerate drug discovery in neurodegenerative disease, tackling undisclosed targets in a multi-year programme. Denali will be responsible for the further lead optimisation, development, and commercialisation of these molecules.

"We are delighted to partner with Denali Therapeutics, a company with a rigorous scientific approach and a commitment to innovation in neurodegenerative disorders", said Dr Hannah Sore, CEO and founder of PharmEnable. "Our respective teams' scientific and technical expertise is highly complementary, making it possible to accelerate drug discovery and bringing significant impact to patients with neurodegenerative disease."

Under the terms of the agreement, PharmEnable will receive an upfront cash payment and will be eligible to receive development and commercial milestone payments.

"We are excited to collaborate with PharmEnable and leverage their cutting-edge AI methods with the goal of unlocking novel chemical matter in this challenging disease area," said Dr. Alexander Schuth, Chief Operating and Financial Officer of Denali. 

About PharmEnable

PharmEnable is a Cambridge (UK) based AI drug discovery company mapping chemical space to develop innovative medicines. Our interdisciplinary approach integrates advanced medicinal chemistry expertise and cutting-edge AI/computational methods to deliver novel therapeutics.

PharmEnable's proprietary drug discovery platform provides a powerful engine for generating novel chemical entities against a challenging target. We model targets to identify their key molecular interactions, and map and expand the novel chemical space that can modulate a specific target. Advanced medicinal chemistry expertise guides the development of synthesizable, complex and 3-dimensional small molecules, increasing specificity and reducing off-target effects. Our vision is to reproduce the specificity of biologics in the powerful and scalable form of a small molecule.

PharmEnable's mission is to deliver life-changing medicines. Our world-class team works across a range of disease areas where drug specificity is a significant challenge, such as cancer and neurological disease.

For more information, please visit www.pharmenable.com.

LinkedIn: @PharmEnable | Twitter: @PharmEnable

Media enquiries:

PharmEnable 
Dr Jelena Aleksic, CBO, PharmEnable
+44(0)779 3534121 | [email protected]

CMC Consulting (for PharmEnable)
Carme Mont
+34 651 54 9191 | [email protected]

SOURCE PharmEnable