Laval, QC — April 2, 2020 — Solstar Pharma, Inc., a pharmaceutical company based in Laval, Canada developing antimicrobial agents, announced today that it has signed a global license and collaborative research agreement with GF Mille located in Gifu, Japan.
The collaborative research program will involve various developments of small molecules designed with GF Mille’s intellectual property for the treatment of various incurable cancers as well as anti-viral agents for various emerging pathogens. The compounds will be tested for efficacy and safety in laboratories and with scientific partners around the world, mainly in Japan, Canada, and Europe.
These novel RNA drugs will be important to develop new treatments for various types of cancer and infectious diseases, including COVID-19 infections, that will be used for patients with limited treatment options or that fail standard therapy.
“As we continue to broaden our capabilities in Research & Development, the collaboration with GF Mille gives us access to breakthrough innovation potential,” said Dr. Dennis Baltzis, President of Solstar Pharma. “Working with GF Mille, in a disease area that they are strongly committed to and affects so many people worldwide, provides Solstar Pharma an excellent opportunity to apply our drug discovery capabilities to develop effective therapies to treat various untreatable cancers and infectious diseases in which vaccines are not available.”
“This collaboration is an endorsement of the research strategy and capabilities of both our companies to identify and provide novel pharmacological targets for future therapies that previously have not been considered by scientists in drug development,” said Dr. Tokuhiro Chano, CEO of GF Mille.
GF Mille’s drug discovery program comprising oncology, virology, molecular biology and RNA/DNA chemistry is managed by the world-renowned scientist, Dr. Yasuhiro Furuichi. Dr. Furuichi made an important fundamental discovery such as the mRNA Cap structure in his career on the process of protein translation (how cells produce proteins). Dr. Furuichi is an excellent drug discovery scientist in the basic research field of biology, in which he also contributed to the applied science for the discovery of innovative medicines, such as Bosentan and Xofluza. Currently, he has been promoting the development of innovative anti-cancer siRNA drugs.
“This partnership is an exciting opportunity to advance treatments for diseases that have long evaded the industry. We look forward to combining Solstar Pharma’s expertise in drug development and GF Mille’s novel platform of nucleic acid chemistry and insights into the role of small RNA molecules in disease,” said Dr. Furuichi, senior scientific advisor of GF Mille.
“We also look forward to working closely with GF Mille to expand our capabilities in Canada and put the local biotech ecosystem at the forefront of this important and emerging area,” said Dr. Baltzis.
Under the agreement, Solstar Pharma will gain the option to exclusively license a specified number of novel therapeutics derived from the research activities. GF Mille will contribute with its small RNA molecule library and R&D capabilities in medicinal chemistry. As part of this partnership, Solstar Pharma and GF Mille will broaden their presence in Canada and Japan, and foster local capabilities to translate the emerging science into new medicines.
