CHDI will test Serenex’ synthetic Hsp90 inhibitors.
Serenex and CHDI entered into an agreement to assess the former’s drug candidates for the treatment of Huntington’s disease. CHDI will evaluate a number of Serenex’ small molecule, brain-penetrating, orally bioavailable Hsp90 inhibitors.
Under the terms of the agreement, Serenex will retain all rights to develop and commercialize investigated molecules. The company discovered these Hsp90 inhibitors using its chemoproteomics platform.
“The root cause of several neurodegenerative diseases such as HD is improper protein processing, which results in the aggregation of mutant or incorrectly folded proteins,” explains Richard Kent, M.D., president and CEO of Serenex. “Inhibition of Hsp90 destabilizes these proteins, targets them for degradation, and thus prevents the protein aggregates from forming.”
