Extends Research Collaboration with Novo Nordisk

e-therapeutics extends research collaboration with novo nordisk and signs first agreement on its new "gains" functional genomics technology

• Genome-associated interaction networks (GAINs) is a novel functional genomics technology platform developed by e-therapeutics
• GAINs has the potential to greatly improve the understanding of complex diseases, identify previously unknown disease processes and pathways and drive the discovery of new drugs and diagnostics
• e-therapeutics and Novo Nordisk are now working together on the application of two of e-therapeutics' technology platforms in the area of type 2 diabetes

e-therapeutics plc (AIM: ETX, "e-therapeutics") is pleased to announce that it has signed an extension to its existing research collaboration with Novo Nordisk in the type 2 diabetes space. To date, the companies have been using e-therapeutics' proprietary Network-Driven Drug Discovery (NDD) platform to discover potentially novel biological mechanisms and therapeutic approaches for a specific area of type 2 diabetes.

Under the amended agreement, e-therapeutics will now also use its new Genome-Associated Interaction Networks (GAINs) technology to analyse population genomics data from patients with type 2 diabetes. This is the first research agreement for e-therapeutics' new and novel functional genomics technology.

The amendment extends the original contract by six months to June 2020 and will also allow further work to be performed using e-therapeutics' NDD technology. In addition, output from the GAINs collaboration can be included in any subsequent work and commercial agreement.

We are very pleased that Novo Nordisk, a global leader in diabetes care and innovation, has chosen to extend our original agreement. In addition to extending the original contract, this marks the first deal on our new "GAINs" functional genomics technology in a hugely important disease area.

We are really excited by the potential of GAINs to greatly improve the understanding of complex diseases, identify previously unknown disease processes and pathways and facilitate the discovery of new drugs.

Over the last 20 years, the pharma industry has conducted many population genomics studies to understand the genetic basis of disease, most of which have met with limited success. Using GAINs, we are now able to interrogate genomics data from patients with complex, polygenic disease and shed new light on important and novel biological pathways for particular groups of patients. 

GAINs has potentially broad application in therapeutic, diagnostic and biomarker fields. We only began to market GAINs to the industry two months ago and are encouraged by the interest already shown.

Dr Ray Barlow

CEO

Other than the extension in term and additional payments, the terms and conditions of the original agreement remain in place. Novo Nordisk has the option to license relevant IP generated under the collaboration. Any future license would require mutual agreement of commercial terms.