X-Chem and Alexion Collaborate

X-Chem, Inc. has announced the initiation of a drug discovery collaboration with Alexion, a global leader in the development and commercialization of life-transforming therapies for patients with severe and ultra-rare disorders.

X-Chem will deploy its proprietary drug discovery engine, which is based on an ultralarge,
high-diversity library in excess of 100 billion molecules, to identify novel drug candidates against targets chosen by Alexion. Under the terms of the agreement Alexion will have the exclusive worldwide rights to develop and commercialize novel compounds arising from the collaboration.

X-Chem will receive an upfront payment and would receive additional payments upon the achievement of specified research, development and regulatory milestones. In addition, X-Chem would receive royalty payments on the sale of products resulting from the collaboration.

“This agreement with X-Chem is an important element of Alexion’s strategy for addressing targets and developing first-in-class therapeutics for patients with life threatening and ultra-rare disorders,” said Martin Mackay, PhD, Executive Vice President and Head of Global R&D at Alexion. “We are very pleased to collaborate with X-Chem and gain access to their innovative platform.”

“X-Chem is excited to collaborate with Alexion, a leader in the treatment of patients with severe, rare diseases," said Richard W. Wagner, PhD, CEO of X-Chem. “This collaboration will enable Alexion to leverage the power of X-Chem’s discovery engine for pursuing challenging targets of clinical importance.”