Takeda strikes deal with C4X to access 3D drug structure tech

Takeda Pharmaceutical's United Kingdom subsidiary has begun working with C4X Discovery to improve its lead discovery and hit identification. The agreement is centered on C4XD's 3D drug technology, a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)-based method of viewing the structure of a molecule.

C4XD claims to have developed a workflow that improves on alternative NMR analysis tools while freeing researchers from a reliance on protein structure data and computer simulations. The C4XD workflow is underpinned by its data analysis system, which turns NMR readouts into 3D structures complete with details on bond geometries and how long the molecule exists in a particular conformation. Takeda thinks the technology can help with its pipeline projects.

"We … are excited about the potential of this collaboration. C4XD has a highly innovative platform technology which complements our strong research base," Dr. Andy Ayscough, senior director of chemistry at Takeda's Cambridge, U.K.-based subsidiary, said in a statement. The deal covers the use of the technology on multiple therapeutic projects, potentially giving C4XD a platform from which it can showcase its capabilities.

Manchester, England-based C4XD began life in 2008 as a university spinout with funding from Aquarius Equity Partners, a fund that has continued to back the company as it has begun to apply its 3D structure technology to in-house research. For its research program C4XD is mining its database of 3D structures to find small-molecule drug candidates, a process that led to it selecting the orexin-1 receptor as the target of its lead project.

- read the release