Blue Oak Pharmaceuticals has partnered with PGI Drug Discovery (PsychoGenics) to optimise new treatments for brain and psychiatric disorders.
The deal allows access to PsychoGenics’ phenotypic discovery platforms such as SmartCube system and its expertise in machine learning for the discovery of therapeutics from Blue Oak’s chemotypes library.
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In addition to wide in-vivo behavioural expertise, PsychoGenics platforms involve robotics, computer vision and bioinformatics designed for assessment of potential drug candidates in various CNS disease indications.
Blue Oak Pharmaceuticals president and CEO Tom Large said: “We have a strong, ten-year relationship with Dr Emer Leahy and PsychoGenics that has validated our systems neurobiology paradigm for discovering clinical molecules with mechanisms-of-action distinct from existing drugs.
“We are confident that combining PGI’s deep behavioural profiling with Blue Oak’s privileged chemotypes and brain imaging biomarkers will yield the new therapies that have eluded the industry for several decades.”
Blue Oak designed its chemistry platform to engage brain circuits through polypharmacology and integrates brain imaging with translational medicine biomarkers for quick optimisation of clinical leads.
PsychoGenics uses machine learning to analyse high-dimensional behavioural data for the phenotypical identification of treatments with new mechanisms of action.
The firm has already discovered a psychotropic agent that is currently under evaluation in Phase II clinical trials for the treatment of schizophrenia and Parkinson’s disease psychosis.
PsychoGenics president and CEO Emer Leahy said: “We have worked productively together at Sunovion in the past and have every confidence we can again discover first-in-class drugs and ultimately deliver much-needed treatments to patients with severely disabling psychiatric conditions.”
