Focused Epigenetic Drug Discovery

CellCentric is actively pursuing novel drug discovery against a histone demethylase, a ubiquitin modifier and two histone methyltransferase targets.

The primary therapeutic area is cancer. The target programmes have been prioritised having evaluated over 50 unexploited epigenetic targets, across multiple target families.

CellCentric’s advantage comes from its ability to access unpublished information and resources from over 30 leading labs in the field. This aids target identification and validation, as well as drug discovery and development itself; from assay development through to patient selection.  
 

Epigenetics is a strategic imperative for many pharmaceutical companies looking at new ways to treat cancer but also other conditions such as neurodegenerative diseases, metabolic disorders and inflammatory diseases. Progress has been made by others with DNA methyltransferase and histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors. Small molecule drugs to second generation targets* offer the potential of greater specificity of action and effect. 

* Mack G: Feature: To Selectivity and Beyond, Nature Biotechnology, Dec 2010.