On April 1, 2014 NEOMED, an organization whose mission is to create a bridge between academic research and the pharmaceutical industry, reported the launch of a new oncology drug discovery project (Press release, NEOMED, APR 1, 2014, View Source [SID1234527383]). The project, from a US company Epigenetix Inc. (Florida), has been selected by NEOMED to develop novel inhibitors of Brd4, a protein that functions as an epigenetic modulator and whose potential in the treatment of cancer is being explored. The initial stages of drug discovery will involve IntelliSynRD, a Montreal-based medicinal chemistry company located in the NEOMED Institute.

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!

"This is a very important project for NEOMED which we will undertake in collaboration with our partners. We aim to deliver a candidate drug within the next six to eight months. We are confident that we can achieve this together thanks to our team of scientists and the support of our network at the NEOMED Institute, and elsewhere in Canada." said Dr. Max Fehlmann, President and Chief Executive Officer of NEOMED and the NEOMED Institute.

"We are very pleased to have the support of an organization such as NEOMED to advance the development of new inhibitors of Brd4 and confirm the importance of epigenetics in the treatment of various forms of cancer. NEOMED’s expertise and its network will quickly move this project forward. The fact that our preferred provider of medicinal chemistry, IntelliSynRD, is part of the NEOMED Institute is an important advantage for the success of the project," said Joe Collard, President and Chief Executive Officer of Epigenetix Inc.

The most recent discoveries have shown that changes in the spatial shape of DNA can be as important as those in its sequence to explain the causes of certain diseases, in particular cancers. Although the DNA sequence cannot be easily modified, the spatial form of the DNA molecule is controlled by a family of enzymes that can be targeted with new classes of drugs. The ambition of epigenetics approaches is to restore the normal functions, especially in cancer cells.