Gilead Sciences and Scholar Rock Announce Strategic Collaboration to Develop Novel Therapies for Fibrotic Diseases
– Companies to Develop Highly Specific Inhibitors of Local TGFβ Activation –
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Under the collaboration, Gilead has exclusive options to license worldwide rights to product candidates that emerge from three Scholar Rock TGFβ programs: inhibitors that target activation of latent TGFβ1 with high affinity and specificity, inhibitors that selectively target activation of latent TGFβ1 localized to extracellular matrix, and a third TGFβ discovery program.
“Gilead is committed to developing innovative therapies that address a range of fibrotic diseases, including non-alcoholic steatohepatitis and diabetic kidney disease,” said
In connection with the collaboration agreement,
“Gilead’s commitment to developing innovative therapies for fibrotic diseases makes the company an ideal partner to maximize the value of candidates from our TGFβ program,” said Nagesh Mahanthappa, Ph.D, President and CEO of
Fibrosis is a debilitating pathological feature of many diseases that scars tissues and vital organs and is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. TGFβ-driven signaling is thought to be a central regulator of fibrosis. Inhibitors of TGFβ signaling discovered through Scholar Rock’s proprietary platform have been shown to selectively prevent the activation of the growth factor in the fibrotic matrix in vitro and in preclinical models. By targeting the disease microenvironment, these highly specific inhibitors of TGFβ activation may offer a novel approach to suppressing pro-fibrotic signaling in multiple organs.
About Scholar Rock
Scholar Rock is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of innovative medicines for the treatment of serious diseases in which signaling by protein growth factors plays a fundamental role. Scholar Rock is creating a pipeline of novel product candidates with the potential to transform the lives of patients suffering from a wide range of serious diseases, including neuromuscular disorders, cancer, fibrosis and anemia. Scholar Rock’s newly elucidated understanding of the molecular mechanisms of growth factor activation enabled it to develop a proprietary platform for the discovery and development of monoclonal antibodies that locally and selectively target these signaling proteins at the cellular level.
Scholar Rock® is a registered trademark of
About
Scholar Rock Forward-Looking Statement
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but not limited to, statements regarding Scholar Rock’s future expectations, plans and prospects, including without limitation, Scholar Rock’s expectations regarding the potential of the TGFβ program and Scholar Rock’s collaboration with Gilead. The use of words such as “may,” “might,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “project,” “intend,” “future,” “potential,” or “continue,” and other similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. All such forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations of future events and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from those set forth in or implied by such forward-looking statements.
These risks and uncertainties include those risks more fully discussed in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in Scholar Rock’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended
Gilead Forward-Looking Statement
This press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, including the risk that the parties may not realize the potential benefits of this collaboration and Gilead may fail to develop and/or commercialize any product candidates from the TGFβ program. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and other factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those referred to in the forward-looking statements. The reader is cautioned not to rely on these forward-looking statements. These and other risks are described in detail in Gilead’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended
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Gilead Contacts
Investors:
Sung Lee
+1 650-524-7792
Media:
Arran Attridge
+1 650-425-8975
Scholar Rock Contacts
Investors/Media:
Catherine Hu
chu@scholarrock.com
+1 917-601-1649
Media:
Kathryn Morris
Kathryn@theyatesnetwork.com
+1 914-204-6412