Pierre Fabre Laboratories and Vernalis announce a drug discovery collaboration in oncology

CASTRES, France and CAMBRIDGE, England, Sept. 25, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Pierre Fabre Laboratories and Vernalis (R&D) Ltd ("Vernalis"), a fully owned subsidiary of HitGen Inc., are pleased to announce a long-term partnership to identify pre-clinical candidates against multiple oncology targets.

Under the terms of the agreement, Vernalis will use its expertise to enable drug discovery against an undisclosed portfolio of targets and use fragment and structure-based methods to identify small molecules that modulate their activity. This research will be combined with the oncology experience of Pierre Fabre Laboratories to identify drug candidates for treatment of a range of cancers for further development and commercialisation by Pierre Fabre Laboratories. The research at Vernalis will be funded by Pierre Fabre Laboratories who will also pay research and clinical milestones and royalties on marketed products. The detailed terms of the agreement are not disclosed.

James Murray, Research Director of Vernalis said: "This strategic partnership is built on the Vernalis track record for innovation and success in enabling drug discovery and identifying clinical candidates for a wide variety of therapeutic targets. We look forward to building this long-term partnership with Pierre Fabre Laboratories, leveraging their deep expertise in cancer biology and clinical development."

Francesco Hofmann, Head of Research and Development for Medical Care at Pierre Fabre Laboratories said: "Partnering with Vernalis represents an important milestone for us. Leveraging the expertise of Vernalis in key areas of Structure Based Drug Design to deliver high quality clinical candidates on multiple Oncology targets is a real asset to develop our Small Molecule Drug Discovery pipeline".

About Pierre Fabre Laboratories
Pierre Fabre Laboratories is a leading French medical and beauty care company with over 4 decades of experience in innovation, development, manufacturing, and commercialization in oncology. The company dedicated about 80% of its R&D spendings to oncology in 2022 and has declared targeted therapies as its main R&D priority. Its current commercial portfolio in oncology covers colorectal, breast and lung cancers, melanoma, hematology, and pre-cancerous skin conditions like actinic keratosis.  

In 2022, Pierre Fabre Laboratories posted 2.7 billion euros in revenues, 69% of which came from international sales in 120 countries. Established in the South-West of France since its creation in 1962, the Group manufactures over 90% of its products in France and employs some 9,600 people worldwide. The company is 86%-owned by the Pierre Fabre Foundation, a government-recognized public-interest foundation, and secondarily by its own employees through an international employee stock ownership plan. Pierre Fabre Laboratories' sustainability policy has been assessed by the independent AFNOR Certification body at the "Exemplary" level of its CSR label (ISO 26 000 standard for sustainable development).  

Further information about Pierre Fabre Laboratories can be found at www.pierre-fabre.com, @PierreFabre.  

About Vernalis

For information about Vernalis visit: www.vernalis.com

MEDIA CONTACTS: 

Pierre Fabre Laboratories: 
Laure Sgandurra
laure.sgandurra@pierre-fabre.com  

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