Ampersand Biomedicines and Montai Therapeutics Announce Strategic R&D Agreements with Pfizer to Advance Novel Therapies for Obesity and Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Nov 20, 2024 22:00 CST Updated 22:00

Flagship Pioneering

Venture Capital Firms

Pfizer

Pharmaceutical R&D Developer

Ampersand Biomedicines

Next-Generation Modular Drug Developer

On November 20, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Flagship Pioneering, a bio-platform innovation company, announced its incubated companyAmpersand BiomedicinesAndMontai TherapeuticsHave respectively reached R&D cooperation agreements with Pfizer to identify potential targeted molecules for further development as treatments for obesity and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), which are two of Pfizer's priority disease areas. These agreements are the latest collaborations initiated under the strategic partnership announced by Flagship and Pfizer in July 2023, leveraging Pfizer's deep expertise in the early discovery and development of novel targeted therapies.$7 Billion! Flagship Collaborates with Pfizer to Develop 10 Innovative Drugs）

Flagship Pioneering General Partner andPioneering MedicinesPresident Paul Biondi stated:"These two new collaborations will respectively leverage the groundbreaking bio-platform technologies of Ampersand and Montai for research, which may bring opportunities for developing new therapies in critical areas of unmet needs in the future. With fourFlagshipThe company was established and is now actively collaborating with ourPioneering MedicinesTeamwork, under our cooperation with Pfizer, we are advancing R&D activities and demonstrating how this innovative supply chain partnership can be promoted byFlagshipThe combination of the company's diversified bioplatform ecosystem with Pfizer's expertise in disease and therapeutic development leads to breakthroughs in drug development, enabling faster innovation."

The agreements with Ampersand Biomedics and Montai Therapeutics follow the previously announced deals with ProFound Therapeutiics and Quotient Therapeutic, marking continued momentum in partnerships. Flagship’s internal drug discovery and development unit, Pioneering Medicines, is responsible for leading Flagship's collaboration with Pfizer, including driving the exploration process to rapidly identify potential drug discovery and research projects based on Flagship's diverse biological platforms and models.

Charlotte Allerton, Head of Pfizer's Discovery and Early Development, said:"Pfizer has deep expertise in cardiometabolic health and cancer drug discovery. We believe that Ampersand's innovative platform and Montai's computational tools have the potential to unlock new approaches for targets in these areas of significant unmet need. Our goal is to leverage these unique methods to bring the next wave of breakthroughs to patients."

Developing the Next Generation of Programmable Drugs to Treat Obesity

Ampersand is leveraging its powerful computational Address, Navigate, Determine (AND)™ platform to program biologics that act only where the body needs them and remain inactive elsewhere. These AND Body™ therapeutics are designed to effectively target disease sites without affecting healthy tissues or cells. AsFlagship-PfizerAs part of the partnership, Ampersand will leverage its AND platform to target tissue-selective metabolic pathways, offering a potentially effective approach to improving metabolic health.

Ampersand Biomedics CEO and Flagship Pioneering CEO-Partner Jason Gardner stated:"Compared with non-targeted drugs, AND Body Therapeutics represents a new type of programmable biologic with a significantly improved therapeutic index, making it an attractive approach for new targets in obesity treatment. This collaboration is one of the many potential applications of our platform in obesity and other fields. We look forward to exploring the potential of AND Body Therapeutics to improve metabolic health."

Exploring the Potential of Anthromomolecules™ as a Preferred Starting Point for Small-Molecule Cancer Therapies

Montai's CONECTA Platform Integrates Advanced Computational Tools to Decode the Connection Between Undruggable Biological Pathways and Novel Small-Molecule Solutions from Untapped, Human-Qualified Chemical Sources, Referred to as Anthromolecules™. Montai has Curated a Library of Over 100 Million Anthromolecules and Their Derivatives, Whose Topologically Rich Chemical Structures Are Largely Distinct from Those Explored in Traditional Drug Discovery. These Molecules, Derived from Traditional Medicines, Foods, and Their Metabolites, Possess Fundamental Scaffolds That Have Evolved to Offer Higher Precision and Selectivity for Engaging a Broad Range of Molecular Patterns Involved in Driving Chronic Disease Pathways. As Part of the Flagship-Pfizer Partnership, Montai Will Deploy Its CONECTA Platform Targeting Oncogenic Mechanisms Driving Cancer Cell Growth and Survival to Identify New Small Molecules with Further Development Potential as Treatments for Cancer.

Margo Georgiadis, Co-founder and CEO of Montai, said:"Montai’s chemical diversity, combined with our deep understanding of pathway networks, positions us uniquely to identify key immune system modulators in inflammation, autoimmune diseases, and certain cancers—areas that small molecule drug developers have historically avoided. We look forward to exploring how CONECTA’s integrated chemobiology approach can precisely match novel small molecules that interfere with cancer cell mechanisms to inhibit tumor growth, with the ultimate goal of developing a potential treatment for cancer patients."

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