CRO

X-Chem Established as Independent, Privately Owned Biotechnology Company

WALTHAM, Mass.--()--X-Chem announced today that it has been spun out to the shareholders of the parent company of Pharmaceutical Product Development, LLC ("PPD") as an independent, privately-owned biotechnology company.

X-Chem was acquired by PPD in 2014 following an initial investment in the company in 2010. X-Chem has since partnered with nine major pharmaceutical and biotech organizations – including Alexion, AstraZeneca, Bayer, Janssen Biotech, Pfizer, Roche, Sanofi and others, along with several smaller biotech and academic organizations, to provide access to its proprietary DNA-encoded library to discover small molecule drug candidates against a wide variety of targets. To date, X-Chem has established collaborations on well over 70 therapeutic programs and has licensed 16 programs to its partners for further development. In addition, in late 2012, X-Chem and PPD established X-Rx, Inc. to advance certain X-Chem internal programs in the areas of oncology, autoimmunity, inflammation and fibrosis, with the most advanced program expected to enter the clinic in 2016.

Following the acquisition of X-Chem by PPD, PPD management provided strategic and financial guidance to help X-Chem advance the commercialization of its unique small molecule discovery platform and build out its biotechnology business model for future growth. Based on the new strategic direction for X-Chem, the companies decided to spin out X-Chem to further pursue its biotech focus and partnering strategies to create maximal value for its shareholders.

"X-Chem has emerged as the leader in DNA-encoded Library technology. Our goal as an independent biotechnology company is to continue to evolve our platform and work closely with our partners to fully integrate our capabilities as a central drug discovery paradigm," said Richard W. Wagner, Ph.D., Founder, President, and CEO of X-Chem. "Further, we will continue to seek new opportunities in emerging biological systems to co-invest our efforts to discover novel, first-in-class therapeutics."

About the DNA-Encoded X-Chem (DEX™) Library and Platform

Due to the size and diversity of the DEX library (over 100 billion compounds), X-Chem can discover multiple series of novel, potent and selective lead compounds at an unprecedented rate of success against a wide range of targets, including some that previously failed using conventional screening methods. A number of proprietary innovations in library design, screening methodology and bioinformatics underlie the exceptional performance of the DEX platform. In particular, X-Chem's approach to library construction allows for additional chemical reactions to become useable in DNA-encoded library synthesis. Together, these developments result in a much greater repertoire of diversity for small molecules, which cover a range of categories including fragment molecules, small molecular weight heterocyclic compounds, covalent and macrocyclic structures. This diverse library, combined with a heightened ability to detect active molecules, has yielded a robust process that has been highly successful against targets categorized as difficult or intractable.

About DNA-Encoding

The X-Chem drug discovery engine is based on a library generated by iterative combinatorial synthesis of small molecules tethered to DNA tags that record the synthetic history of the small molecule. Every small molecule in the library has a unique DNA barcode attached it. The library is screened as a mixture using affinity-based binding to a target of interest. Certain rare molecules in the library that bind to the target can be "fished out," while the rest of the molecules wash away. DNA sequencing methods are then used to detect molecules that are enriched when bound to the target. The diverse nature of the library produces multiple families or clusters of related molecules that bind to the target, forming a basis for emergent structure-activity relationships. Structure-activity relationships are typically used by medicinal chemists to guide iterative chemical maturation of a molecule into a drug. Based on the synthetic history encoded in the DNA sequence information, molecules are then made without the DNA tag attached, and tested for activity in conventional assays.

About X-Chem

X-Chem, Inc. is a privately owned biotechnology company based in Waltham, MA. The company's mission is to apply its powerful product engine to the discovery of small molecule compounds against high-value therapeutic targets. X-Chem has established partnerships with leading pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology organizations, and academic centers to provide access to its proprietary DNA-encoded library for small molecule drug discovery research.

For further information on X-Chem, please visit: http://www.x-chemrx.com.

Contacts

X-Chem, Inc.
Richard W. Wagner, Ph.D., 781-419-6900
Founder, President, and CEO
or
Media
Suda Communications LLC
Maureen L. Suda, 585-387-9248