C4X Discovery Holdings Limited announces progress on immuno-inflammation programmes and appointment of new Board members

C4X Discovery Holdings Limited

C4XD announces progress on immuno-inflammation programmes and
appointment of new Board members

22 July 2024 - C4X Discovery Limited (“C4XD”), a pioneering drug discovery company, today provides an update on the business following its delisting from AIM earlier in the year.

Clive Dix, Executive Chairman of C4XD, said: “The great work at C4XD continues. We are utilising our strong capital position to drive forward our immuno-inflammatory portfolio, underpinned by our unique genetic insights platform. Our business development and scientific teams are hard at work presenting and networking at key scientific conferences and industry events, showcasing our expertise in immuno-inflammation, whilst ensuring that we have the right contacts in place for future collaborations.

“With the shift in direction for the Company away from the public markets, we sadly say goodbye to Simon Harford, who has decided to step down after three years to focus on other commitments. Simon has provided invaluable support and guidance during his time with us, and we wish him the very best for his future projects. At the same time, we are delighted to welcome two new Non-Executive Board members: Harmesh Suniara, who joins us from Lombard Odier 1798 Volantis, a great supporter of our business; and Richard Jones, a respected finance operator within the industry. Each bring unique and important skills which will broaden and enhance the Board’s guidance and strategic direction to drive a successful future for the Company.”

Pipeline
We continue to advance our small molecule drug discovery portfolio against a range of targets in the immuno-inflammatory space where we have identified a combination of unmet medical need, significant commercial potential and practicable application of our core platforms, PatientSeek and Conformetrix.

Our lead programme is an oral a4b7 integrin inhibitor for use in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (‘IBD’). This integrin is the target for the clinically successful biologic therapy Vedolizumab, (Entyvio), but a small-molecule alternative would broaden patient access. Our Discovery scientists are closing in on the shortlist of pre-clinical candidates with planning for IND-enabling studies well underway.

In parallel, our Human Genetics team are applying our PatientSeek platform to analyse a number of databases in order to define a genetic fingerprint as a predictive genetic biomarker for a4b7 response that will allow us to specifically design our pivotal clinical trials for success. We have recently published our first disclosure on the PatientSeek platform as applied to Target Identification in rheumatoid arthritis (Scientific Reports, 14, 14153 (2024) doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-64970-0). https://c4xdiscovery.com/unveiling-new-genetic-insights-in-rheumatoid-arthritis-for-drug-discovery-through-taxonomy3-analysis/

As part of C4XD’s journey from a Discovery to a Therapeutics company with a clinical pipeline, we are building our internal skillset appropriately whilst maintaining flexibility through a range of external consultants, CROs and CDMOs in our network.

We are now disclosing two programmes in our pipeline behind our a4b7 programme in the Hit-To-Lead phase and progressing towards Lead Optimisation. The first is an oral PAD4 inhibitor for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). PAD4 is an enzyme involved in modifying a range of proteins through a process known as citrullination; citrullinated proteins have increased immunogenicity and arthritogenicity and their presence in arthritic joints correlates with disease severity. Attenuating this process therefore should provide an opportunity in moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis with First-In-Class potential.

Our second programme is an oral TNFa inhibitor targeting a Best-In-Class profile with multiple possible therapeutic applications, including RA and IBD. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) is a cytokine with a major role in immune system homeostasis and is involved in a number of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Biologics have been developed to block TNF-dependant signalling cascades, but they are not without side-effects and have an effectiveness that often decreases over time. A small molecule therapy should be able to avoid such issues and provide an attractive alternative therapeutic option across a range of indications.

We also have a number of programmes in early evaluation with the goal to assess their suitability for progression.

Board
We note the resignation of Simon Harford after three years on the Board and thank him for his support and counsel during this time. Separately, in line with the delisting Circular, we are delighted to welcome two new Non-Executive members to the C4XD Board appointed by Richard Griffiths and Lombard Odier Asset Management (Europe) Limited:

Richard Jones is an experienced healthcare and life sciences Director. He was most recently CFO of Medica Group, a PE backed international tele-medicine business which was taken private in a £270m deal by IK partners from the UK main market; and is currently SID and Chair of the Audit Committee at Alliance Pharma PLC, an AIM listed consumer healthcare company. Richard previously gained extensive experience in the healthcare sector as CFO at UK AIM Listed companies Mereo BioPharma Group PLC and Shield Therapeutics PLC. At Mereo, he had a leading role in the merger with US listed OncoMed Pharmaceuticals, Inc and its subsequent dual listing on Nasdaq in 2019. At Shield, he established the finance operations and guided the company through several private financing rounds and its 2016 IPO. Prior to his CFO roles, Richard held senior investment banking positions at Investec and Brewin Dolphin Securities, where he advised healthcare clients on a wide range of transactions and fundraisings including IPOs, M&A and fundraisings. Richard qualified as a Chartered Accountant with PwC.

Harmesh Suniara has over 15 years’ experience of working in investment management, with a particular focus on UK small and mid-cap equities including the technology and life sciences sectors. He brings a wealth of expertise in active engagement with companies that Lombard Odier has invested in. He has worked as a Portfolio Manager at Lombard Odier 1798 Volantis since 2017, and prior to this he was an Investment Manager at Henderson Volantis Capital and Gartmore Investment Management. Harmesh graduated in Physics from the University of Cambridge. Lombard Odier 1798 Volantis is a major shareholder in C4X Discovery.

Contacts

Notes to Editors:

About C4X Discovery
C4X Discovery (C4XD) is a pioneering Drug Discovery company, combining scientific expertise with cutting-edge technologies to efficiently deliver world-leading medicines. We have a highly valuable and differentiated approach to Drug Discovery through our enhanced molecular design and patient stratification capabilities, generating small molecule drug candidates across multiple disease indications focused on immuno-inflammation. We are advancing our internal portfolio which ranges from early-stage target opportunities to late-stage Drug Discovery programmes and we have two commercially partnered programmes with Sanofi and AstraZeneca, and one clinical stage candidate which has been acquired by Indivior.

For more information visit us at www.c4xdiscovery.com or follow us on twitter @C4XDiscovery.