Mass High Tech April 12, 2004

 

Predix predicts a ‘hit’ with drug discovery tech
By Dyke Hendrickson

Executives of an emerging Woburn drug discovery company have hit the road seeking $25 million in round C funding.

That figure represents a substantial goal, but then Predix Pharmaceuticals Inc. is pursing a “big idea” that could yield significant returns.

“We are working to close a major round which should take us through mid-2006,” said Michael Kauffman, CEO of the 4-year-old company.

“We’re beginning a new Phase I trial next week, and it’s possible we can be in Phase II sometime next year. The fund-raising climate has improved, but you’ve got to be in the clinic.”

If executives at Predix appear to be watching the calendar, it might be because its science is intended to speed the time of drug development.

The company is bringing an in silico-discovered “hit” through an integrated computational-medicinal lead optimization and into the clinic.

Company executives say that by using algorithms, Predix is able to predict three-dimensional structure of G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) on a computer.

There are 2,000 such proteins in the body, and they can be used as drug targets. Early investors have assumed that Predix is focused on a vast market potential.

Industry analysts say that until now, pharmaceutical companies have successfully made drugs from GPCRs by trial-and-error. Big companies devote scores of scientists to screen them against thousands of compounds to see which ones stick.

But if chemists were to know the actual 3-D structure of the receptor proteins, they could identify which compounds in a library would best attach to them, cutting down the time and costs of drug development.

Kauffman says that Predix will be capable of taking a research process that costs $10 million and re- quires a large team of researchers, and reduce it a $1 million cost with just a few scientists.

“Lots of companies have tried to use computer operations in discovery but to our knowledge we are the first to bring results into the clinic in this way,” Kauffman said.

“We were successful in our first Phase I trial and are confident about our Phase Ib.”

Because it costs almost $1 billion to bring a drug from lab to market, the promise of Predix is significant.

“We believe that our application can find more lead hits faster,” said Christine Wang, vice president in charge of drug development operations. “We are focused on a solution in which we can develop drugs efficiently and more quickly.”

Predix originated in Israel, and most of the computational team is still there. Company officials say they have almost daily video conferences with the Israeli team.

Last summer Predix merged with a New Jersey company, Physiome Sciences Inc. The new entity has been working to develop anti-anxiety drugs to treat depression and other disorders.

Its most advanced program, currently in Phase I, is a treatment to counter attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression.

Prior to his arrival at Predix, Kauffman was a lead researcher at Millennium Pharmaceuticals and is credited with leading the team in the discovery of Velcade, a late-stage cancer drug. Velcade is expected to generate close to $150 million this year for Millennium.

“The Velcade discovery will be a tough act to follow,” said Kauffman, who holds both an M.D. and a Ph.D. “I’m very proud of our work there, and I continue to follow the progress of that drug.”

Prior to Millennium, Kauffman served as medical director of the inflammation program at Biogen Inc.