OpenBench and HemoShear Agree to Pursue Rare Disease Target Using Artificial Intelligence

OpenBench, an AI-enabled small molecule discovery company, entered into an agreement with HemoShear Therapeutics, a biotechnology company focused on treatments for rare metabolic diseases, to use the OpenBench virtual screening platform to identify novel potent inhibitors of an undisclosed rare disease target.

Under the terms of the agreement, OpenBench will receive payment for successful identification and experimental confirmation of novel chemotypes that meet HemoShear’s potency and developability criteria. In exchange, HemoShear gains exclusive access to OpenBench’s proprietary screening technology vis-á-vis its rare disease target of interest. Financial terms were not disclosed.

“We feel confident that the OpenBench technology will pair nicely with the HemoShear REVEAL-Tx platform to help identify potent, developable hits and optimize the likelihood of success for this HemoShear discovery program,” said OpenBench Chief Technology Officer James Yoder. “

OpenBench is a virtual screening platform that partners with small molecule biotechnology companies to enrich preclinical discovery. The company specializes in hit discovery against structurally enabled disease targets, offering a results-driven solution whereby OpenBench partners only pay after Hit material has been experimentally confirmed to meet potency and developability criteria.

HenoShear’s pipeline includes a lead candidate is a small molecule in phase 2 development as a treatment for methylmalonic acidemia (MMA) and propionic acidemia (PA), rare genetic disorders caused by the deficiency of certain enzymes required to metabolize amino acids, which are diagnosed through newborn screening in the United States, and select countries in Europe, the Middle East, and the rest of the world. The diseases result in the buildup of toxic metabolites that can lead to frequent metabolic decompensations, severe organ damage, seizures, developmental deficits, and premature death.

Photo: James Yoder, chief technology officer of OpenBench

Author: Rare Daily Staff