Cyclica and Translatum Medicus inc (TMi) Announce Partnership to Advance Small Molecule Discovery for Age-Related Macular Degeneration

TORONTO, ON, CANADA (January 8, 2018) –  Cyclica Inc (www.cyclicarx.com) and Translatum Medicus Inc (TMi, www.translatummedicus.com), both resident companies at Johnson & Johnson Innovation, JLABS @ Toronto, located in the MaRS Centre, Toronto, Canada, are pleased to announce a partnership to advance the discovery of small molecule treatments for blinding eye disease, first focusing on “dry” age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

TMi is a pre-clinical drug development company focused on macrophage modulation with lead drug candidate, TMi-018, that is dose-dependently efficacious in pre-clinical studies, both preventing the formation and expansion of “geographic atrophy”-like change, the late blinding complication of dry AMD. TMi will leverage Cyclica’s cloud-based platform, Ligand Express™ to optimize the physicochemical characteristics of TMi-018 and related compounds, and to prioritize their pipeline for expanded indications. Ligand Express™ combines an innovative structure-based proteome-wide screening technology with artificial intelligence to uncover and explain the effects of small molecule therapeutics. The platform screens candidate drugs against all structurally-characterized proteins to identify molecular interactions that provide information about “on-” and “off-target” binding events. Accordingly, Cyclica is able to provide critical insights into the mechanism-of-action of small molecules. Terms of the deal are not disclosed, but in addition to receiving cash payment, Cyclica is taking a minority equity stake in TMi.

Dr. Shelley Boyd, MD, President and CSO of TMi, had this to say about the partnership: “Cyclica has a remarkable team and technology that will accelerate our drug optimization and discovery, providing increased insights into our small molecule assets. We are very excited to work with Cyclica and with their proven Ligand Express™ platform, and believe this partnership will facilitate the development of effective new treatments for patients with blinding eye disease.”

Naheed Kurji, President and CEO of Cyclica said, “We are thrilled to partner with a JLABS @ Toronto resident company, and a great team of scientists at TMi. We look forward to supporting TMi with novel insights and data-driven analytics, as well as the local biotech ecosystem through similar creative business models, in an effort to more efficiently bring novel medicines to patients with unmet needs.”