biocrea acquires CNS pipeline and PDE inhibitor platform from Biotie Therapies Corp. and announces corporate strategy
New entity will be based in Radebeul, Germany
biocrea GmbH announced further details about the newly incorporated company and its strategy going forward. biocrea acquires the CNS pipeline and phosphodiesterase enzyme (PDE) inhibitor platform from Biotie Therapies Corp.
The new company will be based in Radebeul, Germany. Dr. Thomas Kronbach, Biotie’s former Chief Scientific Officer, has left Biotie to become CEO of biocrea. The company currently has a pipeline of three PDE inhibitors at research and preclinical stages, which will be advanced into clinical development by 2012. The compounds have already demonstrated efficacy in preclinical animal models for schizophrenia, memory impairment, depression and anxiety.
Moreover, biocrea has established a leading internal drug development platform for PDE inhibitors. Already, biocrea’s researchers have identified several thousand structurally diverse PDE inhibitors with high specificity and nanomolar affinity and have a track record of collaborations with Wyeth (now Pfizer) and GlaxoSmithKline in PDE inhibitor drug discovery and development. In addition, the company has long-standing experience in medicinal chemistry, in particular with drug-like compounds capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier, and in the design of behavioral animal models for neurologic and neuropsychiatric diseases.
“Our goal is to fill the gap that has emerged since many pharmaceutical companies have discontinued their R&D activities in CNS,” said Tom Kronbach, CEO of biocrea. “Our team has a unique track record in the field of CNS therapeutics, including the development of PDE inhibitors for the treatment of schizophrenia, and we are excited to acquire the assets from Biotie. We are convinced that biocrea will be able to become one of the leading CNS plays and are currently evaluating partnering and financing opportunities.”
Biotie will take a minority interest in biocrea and provide initial funding of up to EUR 4.8 million to the new entity.
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