News & Events
- 'Turning Science into Business' AI & ML summit: Navigating AI-driven drug discovery
- Transforming Target and Drug Discovery with Visual Biology derived AI Disease Models
- Visual biology AI neural network recognize disease signatures in cellular pathway visualizations
- Leveraging large-scale mRNA biology data to advance disease understanding
- mRNA Is Never Naked: Exploring RBP Target Space & Therapeutic Opportunities
- Technologies developed to study mRNA life cycle
- Exposing hidden targets within the mRNA regulation space
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Anima Biotech Announces Strategic Collaboration with Takeda to Discover and Develop mRNA Translation Modulators for Neurological Diseases
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Anima Biotech, the leader in the discovery of small molecule drugs that selectively control mRNA translation, today announced that the company has entered into a strategic collaboration with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (“Takeda”) to discover and develop a new class of medicines for genetically-defined neurological diseases.
Under the terms of the agreement, Anima will use its Translation Control Therapeutics platform to discover novel mRNA translation modulators against the collaboration targets. The parties will collaborate to advance the molecules to clinical candidates, which Takeda has the exclusive rights to develop and commercialize.
The preclinical research collaboration will initially include Anima’s early Huntington’s Disease program against the HTT target, selectively inhibiting the mutated protein with small molecules and two additional targets named by Takeda, related to neurological diseases. Takeda will pay Anima up to approximately $120 million in upfront and preclinical research milestone payments and up to $1.1 billion in clinical and commercial milestones, assuming success of the three programs. Anima is also eligible to receive tiered royalties on net sales of each product resulting from the collaboration. Takeda has a time limited option to expand the collaboration with up to three additional targets subject to additional payments to Anima of up to $1.2 billion and tiered royalties, assuming success of these programs.
“Anima Biotech’s expertise in understanding the complex regulatory mechanisms of protein expression in the central nervous system makes them an ideal partner to explore this novel area of drug discovery,” said Ceri Davies, Head, Neuroscience Drug Discovery Unit at Takeda. “By combining Anima’s platform with our strength in translational medicine and clinical development, we aim to develop medicines that deliver greater benefits to patients with genetically-defined neurological diseases where there are non-existent or ineffective treatment options.”
“Partnering is a core strategy of Anima and our model is to build collaborations that maximize the probability of success by combining our discovery platform and expertise in translation control biology with the scientific, clinical and commercial capabilities of our partners,” said Yochi Slonim, Anima’s co-founder & CEO. “Takeda‘s leadership and depth of scientific expertise in the CNS area is ideally suited for our second Pharma partnership in Neuroscience and further validates our leadership in mRNA translation control. We are looking forward to working together with Takeda in a true collaboration model.”
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Targeting RNA Virtual Summit
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Anima Biotech has been invited to present a corporate overview and participate in a panel discussion at the Targeting RNA Virtual Summit. Yochi Slonim, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Anima Biotech, and Iris Alroy, Ph.D., Vice President of Research and Development, will present a corporate overview and Dr. Alroy will serve as an expert on a panel titled, “Approaching mRNA from different angles to target undruggable proteins. Targeting RNA Virtual Summit will take a look at the latest techniques to analyze and predict protein structure, as well as hearing from leading researchers and industry on how to incorporate learnings from RNA biology into potent and selective ligands to help prevent, rather than treat, disease. -
Sachs 14th Annual European Life Science CEO Forum
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Anima Biotech has been invited to participate in a panel discussion at the Sachs 14th Annual European Life Sciences CEO Forum. Yochi Slonim, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Anima Biotech, will serve as an expert on a panel titled, “Platform Technologies & Novel Therapeutics Panel.” The conference will be part of the Digital Sachs Spring Life Sciences Week, which will also incorporate the 2nd Annual European HealthTech CEO Forum. Back for its 14th Annual Edition, this global biopharma industry event will address through its program the main challenges for 2021 in investment, partnering and alliance management. Key players will contribute their insights in panels which cover the macro picture as well as innovation in different therapeutic sectors. -
DMCCB Basel Symposium 2021 on Targeting RNA by Small Molecules
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Anima Biotech has been invited to present at the DMCCB Basel Symposium 2021 on Targeting RNA by Small Molecules online event. Iris Alroy, Ph.D., Vice President of Research and Development of Anima Biotech, will be giving a presentation, titled, “Targeting mRNA translation in drug discovery without ‘shooting the messenger’" followed by a short question and answer session.
This one-day symposium organized by the Swiss Chemical Society, Division Medicinal Chemistry and Chemical Biology, is dedicated to “Targeting RNA by small Molecules”. The topic of this DMCCB Basel symposium has been selected by our members among several proposals aiming at reinforcing the links between chemical biology, medicinal and agro chemistry, while being of importance in drug discovery and optimization programs. Illustrating the progress in the field of RNA targeting drugs and will be of high interest to students in chemistry, pharmacy, biology, and to the medicinal chemistry and chemical biology community at large.
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7th Annual LSX World Congress
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Anima Biotech has been invited to participate in a panel discussion at the 7th Annual LSX World Congress. Yochi Slonim, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Anima Biotech, will serve as an expert on a panel titled, “Early-Stage Partnering for Broad Platform Companies.” The panel will speak to the compelling scientific innovation and record-breaking IPOs and financings that have led to a resurgence in the appeal and valuations of broad platform biopharma companies and how platform companies can advance their portfolio development and partnering strategies to fulfill their promise and justify investor confidence.
The LSX World Congress gathers the founders and CEOs of innovative start-ups through to publicly listed life sciences giants, and everyone in between. It represents the breadth and depth of the cutting-edge research and technology driving the advances in the industry right now and in the near future. The industry’s c-suite will be joined by the sector’s most active investors, pharma and health tech BD&L teams, R&D leaders, KOLs and top tier service companies who are moving the sector forward.
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3rd Annual RNA-Targeted Drug Discovery Conference
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Anima Biotech has been invited to present and participate in multiple sessions during the 3rd Annual RNA-Targeted Drug Discovery Conference, between Dec. 8-10, 2020. Yochi Slonim, Co-founder and CEO of Anima Biotech, will be giving a presentation, titled, “Translation Control Therapeutics: Discovery of Selective mRNA Translation Modulators,” and will also serve on an expert panel, titled, “From Theory to Reality: How to Target RNA Biology with Small Molecule Approaches.” Iris Alroy, VP of R&D, will also participate in an expert Q&A session.
Historically, the development of highly selective, small molecules targeting RNA biology has often been considered an insurmountable challenge. During the RNA-Targeted Drug Discovery Summit, experts will have an opportunity to promote recent progress and scientific breakthroughs in understanding the fundamental biology and function of RNA, which may ultimately lead to the development of more highly selective drugs for a variety of diseases.
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2nd Annual RNA as a Drug Target Conference
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Anima Biotech has been invited to present and participate on an expert panel during the Cambridge Healthtech Institute’s 2nd Annual RNA as a Drug Target Conference, between Sep. 16-17, 2020. Yochi Slonim, Co-founder and CEO of Anima Biotech, will be giving a presentation during the RNA as a Drug Target session, titled, “Translation Control Therapeutics: Discovery of Selective mRNA Translation Modulators, on Thursday, Sep. 17 at 10:15 a.m. ET. As part of the same session, Dr. Iris Alroy, VP of R&D, will participate on an expert wrap-up panel discussion on Thursday, Sep. 17 at 11:35 a.m. ET.
In the past year, the idea of targeting RNA directly with either a small molecule-like drug or with oligonucleotides has gone from an interesting idea to a viable business plan. During the 2nd Annual RNA as a Drug Target Conference, part of the Discovery on Target, attendees will discuss not only the identification of specific and potent novel binders of RNA, but also the unique challenges that come with a novel drug target class.
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Cambridge Healthtech Institute’s Inaugural RNA as a Small Molecule Target Symposium
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Anima Biotech has been invited to give an overview of its Translation Control Therapeutics platform at the Inaugural RNA as a Small Molecule Target Symposium. Co-founder and CEO, Yochi Slonim and vice president of research and development Dr. Iris Alroy will jointly present a talk titled “Translation Control Therapeutics: Discovery of Selective mRNA Translation Modulators,” on Friday, Aug. 28 at 3 p.m. ET.
RNA molecules are crucial for delivering cellular information and genetic regulation, but until recently, the drug discovery world has emphasized protein drug targets. Our lack of knowledge in RNA biology prevented us from exploring possibilities of RNA drug targets, but with recent advances in technologies, such as sequencing, new therapeutic strategies are being explored. The Inaugural RNA as a Small Molecule Target symposium, part of Drug Discovery Chemistry, will discuss methods and tools to identify specific, potent, novel, small molecule binders of RNA.
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ChinaBio Partnering Forum
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Anima Biotech’s co-founder and CEO, Yochi Slonim, has been invited to present about its business, technology and partnering strategies during the ChinaBio Partnering Forum 2020.
The ChinaBio Partnering Forum is the premier life science partnering event in China. The event attracts biotech and pharma leaders from around the world along with hundreds of China-based developers of novel technologies for two days of productive partnering.
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4th Annual IPF Summit 2020
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Anima Biotech’s vice president of research and development, Iris Alroy, Ph.D., has been invited to give an overview of the company’s lung-specific modulators of collagen translation and recent in vivo data at the 4th Annual IPF Summit. Dr. Alroy’s presentation titled “Found in Translation: Targeting Collagen I Protein Synthesis as a Novel Therapeutic Approach for IPF,” will take place on Tuesday, Aug. 25 at 2 p.m. ET.
This year’s IPF Summit will be entirely digital as the only and most comprehensive summit committed to addressing the translational and clinical challenges limiting the idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis industry from transforming patient’s lives with more effective and meaningful drug development. The summit attracts cross-industry experts alongside pioneering academics from IPF drug sponsors to those strategically assessing anti-fibrotic drug development for archetypal fibrotic diseases. The conference highlights the latest interrogation of pathophysiology, genetics, and drug mechanisms to constructively outlining the lumping versus splitting debate, and a world with COVID-19 to advance the IPF drug development frontier.