Children's Tumor Foundation invests in Healx to advance Neurofibromatosis Type 1 treatments
Summary
Milestone payments from CTF will support advance of Healxs lead compound, HLX-1502, to clinical trials and broader Neurofibromatosis Type 1 program Investment reinforces long-term, patient-focused partnership combining Healxs proprietary AI-powered drug discovery platform with CTFs preclinical and clinical research and patient community knowledgeNEW YORK, April 11, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- , the AI-powered, patient-inspired, techbio company pioneering the next generation of drug discovery, today announced that it has signed an investment agreement with its long-term partner, (CTF). There are no approved pharmacological treatments for patients with cutaneous neurofibromas, representing a significant unmet need for the estimated 3 million people with the disease across the globe.Identified using Healxs AI-informed approach, HLX-1502 has a novel mechanism of action, and is supported by data that suggest a favourable safety profile. "Dr Annette Bakker, President, CTF said: "Patient-centric research holds a unique position in the R&D ecosystem and the Childrens Tumor Foundation is pleased to provide this approach to support Healxs AI-driven search for new neurofibromatosis treatments. We operate as a strategic partner to drug discovery and development pioneers such as Healx, and we hope our commitment will encourage others to invest in such organisations who offer a real chance of improving the lives of the millions of NF patients waiting for treatments. By combining frontier AI technology with deep drug discovery and development expertise, Healx can accelerate the pace, increase the scale and improve the chance of success of rare disease treatment development in order to meet this huge unmet need and have unprecedented patient impact.Founded in Cambridge, UK by Dr Tim Guilliams (a Biochemical Engineer and techbio entrepreneur) and Dr David Brown (co-inventor of Viagra and former Global Head of Drug Discovery at Roche), Healx has raised over $100 million to date and added a dozen projects to its risk-balanced therapeutic portfolio.