Cumulus Oncology and leadXpro Achieve Critical Milestone in GPR68 Drug Discovery Project

Small Molecules Identified for Therapeutic Intervention in Oncology and Inflammation

Edinburgh, Scotland, and Villigen, Switzerland, 20 August 2024 – Cumulus Oncology, Europe’s first oncology-focused biotech creation company, announces that, in partnership with its collaborator leadXpro (LXP), key milestones have been achieved in their protein structure driven GPR68 drug discovery project. As a result, Cumulus has licensed the small molecule compounds and associated IP created during this collaboration and will continue the programme to lead optimisation and beyond.

In July 2023, Cumulus Oncology and LXP announced a collaboration to develop small molecules against GPR68, an important proton sensing G protein coupled receptor (GPCR), using the latest cutting-edge computational, biophysical and structural biology technologies. Achieving a world first, LXP has solved high-resolution antagonist protein structures of GPR68, rapidly informing compound design. This has enabled the partnership to identify, in under 12 months, a series of potent and selective small molecules for therapeutic intervention in cancer and inflammation, leading to this licensing event. The collaboration will now move to an accelerated drug optimisation phase leveraging these established cutting-edge rational drug design and computational techniques.

LXP will receive a share in revenues from future commercialisation of the project. Further financial details are not disclosed. As the GPR68 programme progresses, Cumulus plans to file for regulatory approval to start clinical development through its Swiss-based portfolio company, GIO Therapeutics, which has been incorporated to develop a portfolio of GPCR targeting assets. The GPR68 programme represents the first programme that will be developed by GIO Therapeutics.

Cumulus Oncology’s CEO Clare Wareing said, “The LeadXpro team are world leading experts in GPCR drug discovery and deciphering membrane protein structures to improve human health. This successful collaboration, and the milestones achieved, have resulted in the licensing agreement between Cumulus and LXP, exemplifying the Cumulus model. Cumulus takes a platform and modality agnostic approach to identifying new targets and assets, seeking out opportunities that have the potential to transform therapeutic options for patients poorly served by existing treatments. When these assets reach key inflection points, they are taken forward in new companies that we create and manage.”

leadXpro’s Co-founder, CEO, and Chairman of the Board, Michael Hennig added, “We’re delighted to have achieved this major drug development milestone working with Cumulus Oncology. Clare and her team share our passion for structure-based drug discovery. Together we have achieved fantastic success with our medicinal, computational chemistry, biophysics and structural biology input in a short span of time. We are looking forward to continuing the collaboration on this therapeutically important proton sensing GPCR. This continues to be a very positive relationship and shows us to be the partner of choice for structure-based drug design of novel membrane protein targets. 

About Cumulus Oncology

Cumulus Oncology is Europe’s first biotech company creation factory dedicated to the development of novel therapeutics. It sources novel oncology assets from academic institutes, commercial drug discovery groups, and biopharmaceutical companies as well as its own internal asset search engine. An early focus on molecularly selected patient sub-groups is a key aspect of the business model. The company incorporates the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) platforms into its decision-making process to prioritize targets and assets and build patient sub-group hypotheses.

Cumulus currently has two spinout companies under management; Nodus Oncology, a DDR portfolio company where the lead asset is a PARG inhibitor program with a positive data package, and GIO Therapeutics AG which was launched in 2024, with a focus on developing therapeutics targeting GPCRs for oncology and inflammation.

Cumulus contributes both early-stage capital and oncology drug development expertise and manages each spinout company to achieve key development milestones and value inflection points. The Cumulus team has extensive drug discovery and development expertise with a collective track record in successful drug approvals over the last 20 years.

Follow the company on LinkedIn and see the website for more information.

About leadXpro AG

leadXpro AG is a biotechnology company specialized in structure-based drug discovery for membrane proteins. Membrane proteins are the most promising targets for drug discovery, yet also the most challenging. To unlock these targets, we bring together specialized knowledge in protein science, pioneering technologies in structural biology and expertise in ligand design and characterization. leadXpro’s research covers a range of membrane proteins, including GPCRs, ion channels, transporters, and enzymes. leadXpro acts as a research partner for a growing number of pharmaceutical, biotechnology and academic partners.

About Proton Sensing GPCRs

Proton-sensing G protein-coupled receptors are transmembrane receptors which sit in the outer membrane of cells. They sense changes in the acidity of the environment outside the cell and transmit this information into the cell with instructions on how to adapt. This naturally beneficial and adaptive response can go awry and/or be hijacked by cancerous or diseased cells to enable them to survive in a low pH (acidic) environment. Such receptors are an underexploited target class.