Octagon Therapeutics, a preclinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing targeted medicines for autoimmune disease, has initiated a research collaboration with Novo Nordisk focused on inflammatory disease. This multi-year relationship will apply Octagon’s functional target discovery approach and novel chemistry strategy in disease areas in which Novo Nordisk has specific expertise.
 
Octagon’s lead program selectively targets a population of pathologically activated B cells that contribute to autoimmune diseases like systemic lupus and vasculitis. This same approach can be applied in other disease areas to target disease-driving processes while sparing healthy immune functioning. A pilot project through the Novo Nordisk Co-creation Greenhouse accelerator program, demonstrated proof-of-concept in identifying atypical characteristics of other immune cells during disease, leading to the discovery of new therapeutic targets.
 
“Octagon has a unique platform technology to look into functional biology in a novel way.  It makes use of clinical samples and primary immune cells to identify new drug targets. Combined with our disease understanding in the cardiometabolic space and Octagon´s approach in targeting specific lymphocyte populations that drive disease progression, it will be exciting to see what therapeutic discoveries the collaboration can lead to,” said Uli Stilz, vice president of the Bio Innovation Hub, Novo Nordisk.
 
“Novo Nordisk has a strong expertise in diabetes and related cardiometabolic conditions like NASH and kidney disease.” said Octagon CEO Isaac Stoner. “This collaboration will enable Octagon to expand our technology into these disease areas and to further leverage the impressive clinical sample collection that Novo Nordisk has available.”
 
Financial terms of the research alliance were not disclosed.