Lille, April 6th, 2023 – Nagoya and Loos – RaQualia Pharma Inc. (Headquarters: Nagoya, Aichi, Japan; President & CEO: Hirobumi Takeuchi; “RaQualia Pharma”) and Vetbiolix SAS (Headquarters: Loos, Nord, France; Founder & President: Matthieu Roquette; “Vetbiolix”) have agreed to enter into an option and license agreement (“Agreement”) for RQ-00000010 (“RQ-10”), a 5-HT 4 agonist discovered by RaQualia Pharma, to develop pet pharmaceuticals for the treatment of gut motility disorders in dogs and cats.
5-HT 4 receptor is a protein that responds to the neurotransmitter serotonin and is expressed in various tissues and organs, including the brain and digestive system. In the digestive system, the 5-HT 4 receptor promotes gut motility and regulates the contractions on the stomach and intestines, helping digestion and absorption. 5-HT 4 agonists stimulate the release of acetylcholine, which promotes smooth muscle contraction and enhances gut motility. As a result, the 5-HT 4 agonists are useful in treating gut dysmotility, a condition characterized by abnormal contractions of the muscles in the digestive tract, which can lead to symptoms such as constipation and abdominal pain.
RQ-10 is a potent, highly selective, and orally bioavailable small molecule 5-HT 4 agonist. RaQualia Pharma has conducted various non-clinical studies and a phase I clinical study where positive results in terms of efficacy and safety were obtained.
Under the terms of the Agreement, Vetbiloix is granted an exclusive option for an exclusive, worldwide, and sublicensable license to develop, manufacture and market veterinary medicines containing RQ-10. The exclusive option will be valid for up to twenty-four months, during which Vetbiolix will conduct research activities related to proof-of-concept studies using RQ-10. Upon exercise of the exclusive option, Vetbiolix will pay option fees to RaQualiia, and Vetbiolix will be responsible for future global development. RaQualia Pharma is also eligible to receive milestone payments based on development progress. In addition, if the pet pharmaceuticals containing RQ10 are successfully marketed, Vetbiolix will pay RaQualia the sales royalty based on the product sales or license income received by Vetbiolix.
Hirobumi Takeuchi, President & CEO of RaQualia Pharma, stated: “We are very much delighted to have this licensing opportunity for RQ-10 with Vetbiolix, a company that takes a unique and innovative approach to pet pharmaceutical development. In the non-clinical studies using dogs, RQ-10 promoted gastric and colonic motility at a dose as low as 1 μg/kg and showed a favorable pharmacokinetic and safety profile. We hope RQ-10 will improve the lives of dogs and cats suffering from debilitating gut conditions.”
Matthieu Roquette, Founder & President of Vetbiolix, stated: “We are very satisfied to validate this licensing deal with RaQualia: our scientific and veterinary clinical experts have been rapidly convinced with data generated by RaQualia Pharma on the unique therapeutic potential of RQ-10 to significantly improve the gold standard treatment of gut motility disorders affecting pets. There is a crucial unmet medical need in this therapeutic area whereas demands from the veterinary community and the pets parents is dramatically growing, and we believe RQ-10 has the potential to become a “game changer” gastrointestinal (“GI”) disorder drugs in the GI-Pet Market.”
Through the Agreement, RaQualia Pharma and Vetbiolix will further strengthen their development pipelines and contribute to improving the lives of pets and pet parents by providing new treatment options for gut motility disorders in pets.
About RaQualia Pharma
RaQualia Pharma is a research-based biotech with a research headquarter in Nagoya, Japan, aiming to be a “Global Drug Discovery Innovator”, which utilizes cutting-edge life science technologies to create new medicines focusing on unmet medical needs. RaQualia Pharma’s mission is to develop innovative new drug candidates through an open innovation network, and to deliver valuable new therapeutic drugs to patients through joint research and development or by out-licensing with pharmaceutical companies
For more information, please visit https://www.raqualia.com/
A propos de Vetbiolix – https://www.vetbiolix.com
Vetbiolix develops innovative products for the treatment and prevention of diseases affecting pets. As pharmaceutical and biotech companies research new molecules and compounds for human medicine, testing in different species often reveals exciting possibilities for companion animals. Vetbiolix has developed a unique approach focused on turning this potential into innovative prescription drugs and pet care products. To date, veterinarians still have few therapeutic and preventative care products available to them that have been specifically developed and approved for companion animals. Vetbiolix focuses exclusively on the clinical developments of prescription drugs, diagnostic tests, nutraceuticals and pet care products, thanks to its qualified external R&D partners in Europe and the United States. Vetbiolix is supported by the Eurasanté Bio-Incubator, the health cluster in northern France ranked among the top 20 European incubators promoting the development of pharma / biotech start-ups (Labiotech.eu 2019).
Management:
Scientific and Clinical Advisors:
Contact: matthieu.roquette@vetbiolix.com / matthieu.dubruque@vetbiolix.com
