On April 4, 2023 Beactica Therapeutics AB, the Swedish precision oncology company, and Oscotec Inc. (039200: KOSDAQ), the Korean drug development company, reported that they have mutually agreed to terminate their collaboration and licensing agreement (Press release, Beactica, APR 4, 2023, View Source [SID1234629821]). The collaboration focused on research and development of novel anti-cancer drug candidates arising out of Beactica’s LSD1 programme.

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

The LSD1 programme includes BEA-17, a first-in-class small molecule targeted degrader of the epigenetic enzyme LSD1 and its co-factor CoREST. The current lead indication for BEA-17 is glioblastoma, an indication that falls outside the scope of Oscotec’s strategic priorities.

As part of the agreement, Beactica Therapeutics will retain full exclusive global rights for further development and commercialization of the LSD1 programme, and gain ownership of all results from the collaboration. No obligations will remain between the companies.

BEA-17 was recently granted Orphan Drug Designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of glioblastoma (GBM).

"We have valued the opportunity to collaborate with Beactica Therapeutics and congratulate them on FDA’s Orphan Drug Designation to BEA-17 for the treatment of glioblastoma," said Dr Taeyoung Yoon, CEO/CSO of Oscotec. "For portfolio reasons, we have now decided to focus on internal assets that are more closely aligned with our strategic objectives."

"We have appreciated the collaboration with Oscotec and are pleased by what we have achieved together. Retaining global rights to the LSD1 programme increases the potential in Beactica and is well aligned with the Company’s ambition to itself become a clinical-stage company," said Dr Per Källblad, CEO of Beactica Therapeutics.