Daiichi Sankyo taps Depixus to speed RNA drug discovery

Daiichi Sankyo has made the development of RNA-based therapeutics and vaccines one of the pillars of its R&D operations and has turned to start-up Depixus to accelerate and ‘de-risk’ its efforts.

The Japanese pharma will use Depixus’ MAGNA technology – based on magnetic force spectroscopy – in its RNA drug discovery, which is focused mainly on oncology, rare genetic diseases, and vaccines for infectious diseases.

MAGNA probes the complex molecular interactions that underpin all biological systems, according to Depixus, which is based in Paris, France and Cambridge in the UK. It can be deployed in high-throughput screening applications, allowing the analysis of biomolecular interactions in real-time with single-molecule resolution, and is said to be the first technology to deliver this functionality at scale across thousands of individual molecules.

In the case of RNA drugs, these insights reveal how small molecules and proteins bind to three-dimensional RNA structures and provide valuable information about binding kinetics and mode of action, according to the company.

The system consists of a benchtop analytic instrument, flow-cell consumables, and a data handling system. Depixus’ chief executive and co-founder, Gordon Hamilton, has said it can read the multiple layers of information that are central to how genetics is regulated and controlled, giving an insight into the “dynamic genome” that has been challenging with existing technologies.

The partners are not revealing the targets in the partnership, but said Daiichi Sankyo will use MAGNA to explore the interactions of lead molecules with a number of RNA targets to assist hit-to-lead selection and lead optimisation.

Depixus says that – unlike other analytical techniques that provide static snapshots, averaged bulk data, or indirect measurements of molecular interactions – MAGNA generates direct readouts of dynamic binding and conformational changes from thousands of molecules.

It can be used to study a wide range of molecular interactions, including between DNA, RNA, proteins, and small molecule therapeutics, and has been deployed for a wide range of applications including RNA-targeted drug discovery, exploring protein-protein interactions, and identifying targeted protein degraders and molecular glues.

“The world of RNA-targeted therapeutics has huge potential, yet, is largely unexplored,” said Hamilton. “We are excited to partner with Daiichi Sankyo to put MAGNA to work in pursuit of our shared vision of creating novel medicines to treat diseases with high unmet need,” he added, noting that negotiations with pharmaceutical and biotech companies on other partnerships are ongoing.

In 2021, Depixus raised €30.6 million in a Series A round co-led by Lansdowne Partners and the PSIM Fund operated by Bpifrance on behalf of the French State, with participation by Casdin Capital, and existing investors, including Arix Bioscience, taking the total raised by the company to €41 million ($47 million).