StemCell Therapy

Dundee, UK, 14th January 2021 Ubiquigent Limited (Ubiquigent) and the Mottram Laboratory at the University of York today announced a collaboration to investigate the inhibition of deubiquitylase (DUB) enzymes expressed by the protozoan Leishmania mexicana for the treatment of leishmaniasis. The collaboration will be supported by aGlobal Challenges Research Fundgrant, awarded byUK Research and Innovation, as part of A Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases; a research consortium involving 13 universities across South America, Asia and the UK.

Leishmaniasis is a neglected tropical disease caused by parasites of the genus Leishmania. It predominantly affects poor communities in Africa, Asia and Latin America, with around 1.0 million new cases arising annually, and can result in serious illness or death. Current treatments are problematic due to high toxicity and emerging drug resistance, meaning there is an unmet need to develop new therapies.

The potential druggability of the ubiquitin system in Leishmania has previously been demonstrated through parasite-specific proteasomal inhibition being shown to reduce parasite burden in animal models of both visceral and cutaneous leishmaniasis. The initial objective of this collaboration will be to screen one of Ubiquigents proprietary compound libraries against selected L. mexicana DUBs to identify novel inhibitors that will then be used to seed a full drug discovery programme.

Ubiquigenthas established itself as a respected partner in the DUB field with a strong track record in the development of DUB inhibitors both through supporting the drug discovery efforts of its partners and by the strengthening of its own portfolio of novel DUB inhibitors. TheMottram Laboratoryunder the direction of Professor Jeremy Mottram, works on the molecular genetics, cell biology and biochemistry of parasitic protozoa that cause neglected tropical diseases such as leishmaniasis. This collaboration will combine the strengths of both teams to support the rapid exploitation of this opportunity for novel drug discovery.

Professor Jeremy Mottram, Professor of Pathogen Biology at the University of York and Director of the York Biomedical Research Institute (YBRI) commented: "Ubiquigents expertise in the design and development of novel DUB inhibitors and their understanding of the ubiquitin system will add tremendous value to our drug discovery efforts."

Ubiquigents Managing Director, Mr. Jason Mundin commented: "This collaboration with Professor Mottram and his team is an exciting opportunity for us to explore new applications for our DUB inhibitors with the potential of addressing an area of unmet medical need."

Ubiquigent LtdJason MundinManaging Director, Ubiquigent Ltd.E-mail:jason.mundin@ubiquigent.comPhone: +44 (0) 7976 000683

University of YorkJulie GatenbyPress OfficerEmail:julie.gatenby@york.ac.ukPhone: +44 (0)1904 322029

About UbiquigentUbiquigent Limited enables and supports protein degradation focused drug discovery via modulation and exploitation of the ubiquitin system. Our chemistry and biology platforms allow us to design and develop novel compounds as part of strategic partnerships. In parallel we also provide access to our platforms and capabilities for the evaluation of our partners compounds.

For more information please visitwww.ubiquigent.com.

About the University of YorkThe University of York is a high-performance, research-intensive Russell Group university and one of the worlds premier institutions for inspirational and life-changing research. The Universitys focus on teaching and research excellence has resulted in consistently high rankings in the UK and a first-class reputation across the globe.

For more information please visitwww.york.ac.uk.

See the article here:
Ubiquigent and the University of York Awarded a Grant to Explore the Potential of Deubiquitylase (DUB) Enzyme Inhibitors to Address Neglected Tropical...

This entry was posted on January 19, 2021 at 12:53 pm and is filed under Molecular Genetics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. |