Celmatix announced a new drug development program targeting endometriosis through a novel Jun-N-terminal kinase (JNK) inhibitor. The therapeutic candidate, developed using Baylor College of Medicine‘s DNA-Encoded Chemistry Technology platform, aims to address pain and inflammation associated with endometriosis.
The program targets a significant medical need, as endometriosis affects over 10% of girls and women aged 15-45 worldwide. In the US, the condition creates an estimated $69 billion burden on healthcare systems and over $119 billion in lost productivity annually.
“Despite impacting one-in-ten women and girls, to date there have been no disease-altering, first-line medications brought to market to treat endometriosis. As someone who has been impacted by endometriosis since my first period, I can relate to the burden that this debilitating disease places on individuals, families, employers, and communities. Thanks to our decade-long multi-omics initiative, our research group was early in recognizing that inflammation is core to the pathophysiology of endometriosis and may explain why it predisposes women for so many other health conditions down the road. Long after their periods have ended, women pay the price for their period pain having been papered over with painkillers and birth control pills rather than truly addressed and cured. I dream of a better health trajectory for my daughter and her peers and believe that our new JNK immunotherapy will unlock that brighter future,” said Dr. Piraye Yurttas Beim, Celmatix Therapeutics founder and CEO.
“Endometriosis represents an opportunity to address both one of the most significant areas of unmet clinical need and one of the biggest commercial opportunities in women’s health. Our evaluation process to find the right drug program to pursue involved a number of criteria, including target evaluation for anticipated safety, efficacy, and druggability. We also knew that we wanted to prioritize a biological target that was ideally involved in both the transmission of peripheral pain signals and inflammation. It rapidly became clear that a novel class of JNK inhibitors with greater specificity for JNK1 and 3 than for JNK 2 had the potential to meet our target product objectives. It was at that stage that we approached our colleagues at BCM to license lead compounds with many of the desired drug qualities. The promising JNK inhibitor scaffolds discovered at BCM have unique efficacy, potency, and safety signals achieved through novel interactions not previously addressed by other JNK inhibitors. The work on these compounds also confirmed reductions in inflammatory cytokines in models of endometriosis established for cell cultures and endometriosis lesion regression in rodent models. We are now rapidly progressing these licensed compounds through our internal lead optimization efforts and are optimistic to be able to nominate a development candidate soon,” said Dr. Stephen Palmer, Chief Scientific Officer of Celmatix Therapeutics.
“We are confident that Celmatix Therapeutics is the ideal partner for this innovative endometriosis treatment, with potential to expand into other women’s health indications. I have known members of the Celmatix team for over two decades, and they have a proven track record in research integrity and business acumen. The JNK project originated from screens using our sophisticated multi-billion compound DEC-Tec platform, and we are very pleased with the progress made by the Celmatix team,” said Dr. Martin Matzuk, Director of the Center for Drug Discovery at BCM.
This program joins Celmatix’s existing pipeline, which includes an oral follicle stimulating hormone small molecule program for infertility and an Anti-Mullerian Hormone agonist biologics program for ovarian aging.
