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Boehringer Ingelheim and Nxera Pharma (formerly Sosei Heptares), operating from Basel, Switzerland, collaborate to develop first-in-class treatments targeting all symptoms of schizophrenia

In a significant stride toward addressing the complex challenges of schizophrenia, Boehringer Ingelheim and Nxera Pharma Co., Ltd. (formerly known as Sosei Group Corporation) and operating from Basel, Switzerland among other global locations, have entered a global collaboration. At the center is a joint mission to develop and commercialize Nxera Pharma’s portfolio of first-in-class GPR52 agonists, a novel G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) target, with the intent to improve patient outcomes by simultaneously addressing positive, negative, and cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia 1,2,3.

Nxera Pharma

Schizophrenia is a serious condition that affects about 1 in 100 people worldwide4. It is characterized by three clusters of symptoms5,6:

  • ‘Positive’ symptoms – such as psychosis, delusions and hallucinations 
  • ‘Negative’ symptoms – such as social withdrawal and apathy
  • Cognitive symptoms – such as attention, planning and memory deficits

A new treatment targeting GPR52 could potentially address all three symptom clusters by acting on specific brain areas1,2,. Boehringer Ingelheim and Nxera Pharma are partnering to develop this innovative approach, aiming to meet a critical need in mental health care. Their collaboration is focused on advancing this promising treatment, currently in Phase 1 trials, to benefit patients with schizophrenia.

 

About Nxera Pharma

Nxera Pharma is a fully integrated biopharmaceutical company focused on bringing life-changing medicines based on world-class science to patients globally. Our vision is to become one of Japan’s global biopharmaceutical champions.  Our global business combines our world-leading GPCR-targeted StaR® technology, structure-based drug design and early development capabilities in the UK with a highly experienced clinical development capability and a commercial operation in Japan. We are leveraging these capabilities to generate and advance a broad and deep pipeline of novel medicines across multiple therapeutic areas, including neurology, immunology, gastroenterology and inflammatory diseases. We intend to develop these opportunities for patients in Japan and globally both internally and through our partnerships with global biopharmaceutical companies and emerging technology companies.

Nxera Pharma operates from key locations in Tokyo and Osaka (Japan), London and Cambridge (UK), Basel (Switzerland) and Seoul (South Korea).

 

Click here to find out more about this new partnership.

 

 

References

1 Komatsu H et al., Anatomical Transcriptome of G Protein-Coupled Receptors Leads to the Identification of a Novel Therapeutic Candidate GPR52 for Psychiatric Disorders., PLoS One (2014), 9(2), e90134/1-e90134/16, 16 pp., https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0090134

2 Setoh m et al., Discovery of the First Potent and Orally Available Agonist of the Orphan G-Protein-Coupled Receptor 52., J. Med. Chem. 2014, 57, 12, 5226–5237, June 2, 2014, https://doi.org/10.1021/jm5002919 

3 Komatsu, H. Novel Therapeutic GPCRs for Psychiatric Disorders, Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2015, 16, 14109-14121; doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms160614109.

4 Dixon L What It Will Take to Make Coordinated Specialty Care Available to Anyone Experiencing Early Schizophrenia: Getting Over the Hump. JAMA Psychiatry. 2017;74(1):7–8. doi: https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2016.2665

5 Owen M et al., Schizophrenia. The Lancet. Volume 388, Issue 10039, 2–8 July 2016, Pages 86-97, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(15)01121-6 

6 Roth RM et Al., Schizophrenia Research, Volume 98, Issues 1–3, January 2008, Pages 232-238, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.schres.2007.08.020