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Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. has agreed to acquire Jnana Therapeutics Inc., a clinical stage biotech company that mainly operates in the rare and autoimmune disease space.1 Once the deal becomes official—it’s anticipated to close this quarter—Otsuka will pay $800 million to the shareholders of Jnana, with the possibility of an additional $325 million in development and regulatory milestones.
Jnana’s drug discovery efforts are powered by RAPID, a chemoproteomics platform. It utilizes a high-throughput, screening technique whose flexibility reportedly allows for the discovery of binding sites across the surface of a target protein and the identification of small molecules that produce various pharmacologies.
The biotech company has successfully used the platform to pinpoint compounds and target classes, such as signaling scaffold proteins, solute carriers, and transcription factors. In fact, the company’s drug discovery tactics echo those of Astex Pharmaceuticals, which happens to be an Otsuka subsidiary.
As alluded to previously, one of Jnana’s focuses lies in rare diseases, specifically PKU, which is a rare inherited metabolic disorder where phenylalanine builds up via high levels in the blood. Autoimmune diseases are also a priority, but has been difficult, due to the challenge presented by small molecule drug discovery. Currently, the company is focusing on interferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF3), a master transcription factor for the production of interferon.
However, Jnana’s research and tech has resulted in the design of JNT-517, an allosteric small molecule inhibitor of SLC6A19, an SLC (solute carrier) that regulates amino acid reabsorption in the kidney. JNT-517 is showing promise for potentially being an oral treatment for PKU, as supported by positive results in a Phase Ib/II study, specifically pertaining to the treatment of mild to severe disease.
“I am gratified that Otsuka has entered into an agreement with Jnana,” said Makoto Inoue, president and representative director of Otsuka Pharmaceutical. “The addition of Jnana’s drug discovery technology and small molecule pipeline in PKU and autoimmune diseases will strengthen our R&D in the Boston area of the US, one of the most important bioclusters in the world, and in a combined form will have a synergistic effect on Otsuka Pharmaceutical’s global expansion.”
Jnana executives are also proud of the strives that the company has made to arrive at this moment in drug discovery.
“This transaction recognizes the Jnana team’s accomplishments since the founding of the company, which include creating RAPID—a world-class small molecule drug discovery platform,” noted Joanne Kotz, PhD, CEO and co-founder of Jnana. “Leveraging our platform, the team discovered JNT-517, a potential first-in-class oral medicine for the treatment of PKU, and has demonstrated positive clinical proof of concept for JNT-517 in individuals with PKU. We are excited to join Otsuka with our shared goal of developing transformative therapies for patients and look forward to advancing JNT-517 into a registrational study in 2025 and continuing to progress our pipeline of innovative oral medicines for autoimmune diseases.”
The Otsuka portfolio has helped patients tackle various rare diseases, including sibeprenlimab (IgA nephropathy), voclosporin (lupus nephritis), and JINARC (which was approved for autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease). It has also welcomed new specialty drugs including donidalorsen (hereditary angioedema).
Reference
1. Otsuka Pharmaceutical to Acquire Jnana Therapeutics Inc. Globe Newswire. August 1, 2024. Accessed August 2, 2024. https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2024/08/01/2922405/0/en/Otsuka-Pharmaceutical-to-Acquire-Jnana-Therapeutics-Inc.html