WALTHAM, Mass., Feb. 20, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Photys Therapeutics, Inc., a proximity-based therapeutics company, today announced an exclusive in-license with Hangzhou Polymed Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., (“Polymed”), a novel drug discovery and development company based in Hangzhou, China and Cambridge, MA, for HPB-143 a phase 1-ready and potentially best-in-class IRAK4 degrader.
“We are excited to partner with Polymed as we expand and accelerate Photys’ pipeline and its mission to be a leader in proximity-based therapeutics,” said Brian Fenton, CEO of Photys. “Polymed’s expertise in drug development and medicinal chemistry has yielded a potentially best-in-class IRAK4 degrader, with superior degradation and bioavailability compared to the clinical-stage IRAK4 PROTAC. This program complements Photys’ ongoing efforts to advance proximity-based therapeutics into the clinic.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Polymed has granted Photys an exclusive global (ex-greater China and Southeast Asia) license to develop, manufacture, and commercialize HPB-143, which will be renamed to PHT-776. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Polymed previously submitted and received clearance from the FDA for the Investigational New Drug application (IND) for PHT-776.
“We are pleased to partner with Photys to accelerate global development of HPB-143/PHT-776,” said Jason Xiang, founder and CEO of Polymed. “This partnership strengthens Polymed as it aims to become a leading company for tackling undruggable targets in oncology and autoimmune diseases.”
“We see tremendous promise in IRAK4 degradation for a broad number of autoimmune indications, including atopic dermatitis and hidradenitis suppurativa,” said Alexandra Joseph, CSO of Photys. “We intend to initiate phase 1 studies later this year.”
About IRAK4
IRAK4 plays a critical role in IL-1 receptor and Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling which are responsible for regulating immune responses against pathogens. Inhibiting or degrading IRAK4 has been postulated to broadly suppress aberrant inflammation that drives a variety of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Degradation, in particular, has emerged as a uniquely effective mechanism to inhibit inflammatory responses transduced by IRAK4. Degradation blocks both the kinase and scaffolding functions of IRAK4 which are responsible for activating proinflammatory cytokines driven by IRF5/7 and NFkB, including type-1 interferons, IL-6, IL-1, TNF-a, interferon gamma.
About Photys Therapeutics
Photys Therapeutics is a proximity-based therapeutics company with expertise across bifunctional platforms. This includes PROTACs, its proprietary PHICS™ (PHosphorylation Inducing Chimeric Small molecules) platform, and its proprietary tPRIME™ (targeted-PRoximity Induced Modulators of Expression) platform. Photys’ various approaches allows selective modulation of a target protein to achieve a desired alteration of the target’s biologic function, which may be applied in a tissue-selective or cell compartment-selective manner depending on the platform employed. Photys is applying its expertise across these modalities to advance a best-in-class pipeline of medicines in oncology, autoimmune, and cardiometabolic diseases. Photys is based in Waltham, Massachusetts. For more information, please visit www.photys.com.
About Polymed Biopharmaceuticals
Polymed Biopharmaceuticals is a novel drug discovery company focusing on bifunctional molecule modality such as PROTACs and Degrader Antibody Conjugates (DACs) to drugging the undruggable targets. Polymed leverages advanced technologies such as Linker Technology, CADD and Q-Tagging assay to design and discover novel assets with optimized therapeutic properties delivering the lifechanging medicines to cancer and autoimmune disorders patients worldwide. Polymed is based in Hangzhou, Shanghai and Cambridge, Massachusetts. For more information, please visit us at www.polymedbiopharma.com/en.
CONTACT: Photys Media Contact: Teri Dahlman teri@redhousecomms.com Polymed Media Contact: Brent Meadows brent.meadows@polymedbiopharma.com
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