Beactica Therapeutics participates in innovative training network on targeted protein degradation

Beactica Therapeutics, the Swedish drug discovery company, today announced its participation in a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Innovative Training Network (ITN) called UbiMotif. The ITN is funded with EUR 4.1 million under the European Commission's Horizon 2020 programme and aims to deliver 15 skilled early-stage researchers in the area of targeted protein degradation, an emerging field predicted to revolutionize how “undruggable” proteins can be targeted in diseases such as cancer and neurodegeneration.

UbiMotif will focus on identification, characterization and exploitation of certain motifs in the ubiquitin enzyme system that can target disease proteins for destruction, using the cell’s own garbage disposal system to degrade the protein. Pioneering early clinical data presented just this year show that targeted protein degradation has the potential to create safe and well-tolerated orally bioavailable drugs, so called proteolysis-targeting chimeras (PROTACs). Beactica has developed its own PROTACs-enabling technology to broaden its pipeline of first-in-class therapeutics.

“We are excited to join other leaders in the field of targeted protein degradation to be part of UbiMotif; working with the best talent will enable us to open up new frontiers in this promising field.” said Dr Per Källblad, CEO of Beactica Therapeutics, “Training a new generation of drug hunters is essential to the future of the sector as well as Beactica’s growth”.

UbiMotif consists of nine academic beneficiaries (Copenhagen University, Institute of Molecular Biology Mainz, ETH Zürich, Uppsala University, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Institute of Cancer Research ICR, Sapienza University of Rome, University of Dundee and University of Tartu) and two industrial beneficiaries (Beactica Therapeutics and GlaxoSmithKline). The project starts officially on 1 December 2019 and will run for four years. The official webpage of UbiMotif is https://ubimotif.ku.dk/.

About Beactica Therapeutics

Beactica Therapeutics AB is a specialist drug discovery company, utilising its proprietary methodologies to evaluate the interactions of molecules in order to generate novel therapeutics. As well as advancing a pipeline of first-in-class small molecule allosteric modulators of disease-associated proteins, with a focus in oncology, Beactica offers partnerships using its proprietary drug discovery platform. Founded in 2006 based on research carried out at Uppsala University, Beactica has established a reputation as a world-leader in fragment-based drug discovery using SPR biosensor technology. For more information on Beactica Therapeutics, please visit www.beactica.com.

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