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Centessa Pharmaceuticals Subsidiary, Orexia Therapeutics, and Schrödinger Announce Collaboration to Discover Novel Orexin Receptor Agonists
Discovery efforts will focus on small molecules with differentiated clinical profiles to harness the broad potential of orexin agonism across different
About this update from Schrodinger, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"\nDiscovery efforts will focus on small molecules with differentiated clinical profiles to harness the broad potential of orexin agonism across different indications\n\nFirst time Schrödinger is applying its computational platform in an orexin agonist setting enabled by Orexia’s structural biology capabilities\n\n NEW YORK & BOSTON & LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--\nSchrödinger (Nasdaq:SDGR) and Centessa Pharmaceuticals plc (“Centessa”) (Nasdaq:CNTA), together with subsidiary Orexia Therapeutics (“Orexia”), today announced an exclusive collaboration focused on the discovery of novel therapeutics targeting the orexin-2 receptor (OX2R), which is known to play a role in a broad spectrum of sleep disorders, including narcolepsy. The collaboration provides Orexia with substantial access to Schrödinger’s entire computational platform as well as Schrödinger’s extensive expertise in ultra-large-scale deployment of its technology.\n\nOrexia will leverage Schrödinger’s computational platform, including LiveDesign and Free Energy Perturbation (FEP+), which facilitates high-performance calculations for drug discovery to enable accurate prediction of potency at the target of interest. The collaboration will be enabled by Orexia’s structural biology capabilities, including the stabilized OX2R StaR® protein exclusively licensed from Sosei Heptares, and high-resolution crystal structures in agonist conformation. The collaboration represents the first time Schrödinger’s technology will be applied in an orexin agonist setting at scale.\n\n“While prevailing treatment approaches only address the symptoms associated with narcolepsy type 1 (NT1), we believe orexin agonists offer a disruptive approach, with the capacity to address the underlying pathology of the disorder. Orexia’s utilization of OX2R stabilized receptors (StaR®technology) provides the foundation for R&D which could significantly benefit patients with NT1. We look forward to partnering with Schrödinger to complement the discovery and development work we are conducting at Orexia,” said Saurabh Saha, M.D., Ph.D., chief executive officer of Centessa.\n\n“Orexia’s asset-centric approach enables us to pick the best technology partners for discovery and development. While we expect to enter IND enabling studies with our lead molecule next year, we are also delighted to work with Schrödinger to ena...