Chronic pancreatitis is a sustained inflammation of the pancreas, the organ which helps digestion and regulates blood sugar. Chronic pancreatitis can seriously and irreversibly affect the organ’s ability to function properly - leading to severe abdominal pain, scarring, digestive problems and, in many cases, diabetes. It is also linked to an increased risk of pancreatic cancer. More than 150,000 Americans and over a million people worldwide live with the condition, but sadly, there is currently no treatment available. Therefore, for many patients, the only hope is removal of the pancreas in a major surgery called a total pancreatectomy, which carries significant risks and side effects. By combining Healx’s AI-powered drug discovery expertise with Mission: Cure’s drug repurposing knowledge and scientific insights, this partnership aims to provide an alternative for patients by developing some of the first therapies for the condition. 

 

To do this, Healx will be leveraging the power of Healnet - the world’s most comprehensive AI platform for rare diseases. Healnet integrates biomedical data from multiple sources to identify known drugs that can be combined and repurposed to create novel treatments for rare diseases. This tech-driven repurposing approach means the team is able to reduce the time, cost and risk associated with traditional drug development and progress treatments to patients in need more quickly and cost-effectively. This repurposing philosophy is shared by Mission: Cure, who have already invested significant resources to unlock the power of approved medicines. 

 

Commenting on the partnership, Megan Golden, President at Mission: Cure, said: “We are excited to move the needle forward for pancreatitis patients with the help of Healx. Their AI-powered drug repurposing model gives pancreatitis patients hope that they will see an effective treatment for their disease in the next 5 years.” 

 

Meera Swami, Drug Discovery Alliance Manager at Healx, says: “Healx is incredibly proud to be working with Mission: Cure. They are an organisation which shares our passion for, and investment in, patient-centred care and drug repurposing for rare diseases. We are looking forward to combining our expertise to accelerate novel therapies for chronic pancreatitis and we hope to have more to share in the next few months.” 

 

Healx firmly believes in the importance of early and continued engagement of patient groups for all of the projects in its pipeline to ensure that the treatments it develops provide meaningful patient benefit. This partnership with Mission: Cure is the latest such collaboration and builds on the team’s announcements last year that it would be working with the Children’s Tumor Foundation, Muscular Dystrophy UK and the Foundation for Angelman Syndrome Therapeutics to identify and progress treatments for their rare conditions. 

 

All of these partnerships are part of Healx’s Rare Treatment Accelerator, an innovative partnership programme which connects academic groups, patient groups and early-stage biotechs with Healx’s team of experts to unlock the power of repurposed drugs for rare diseases - 95% of which are still without an approved treatment. v2.0 of the RTA was launched in November last year and is focused on partnering with groups who have identified promising drug repurposing opportunities for rare diseases but need additional support to bring them to patients. Recognising the all-too-common lack of financial investment and clinical expertise needed to translate repurposed drugs from research to reality, Healx will use its AI, drug development and clinical expertise, as well as significant financial resources, to evaluate, enhance and accelerate the repurposed drugs, with the aim of starting a clinical trial within 6-12 months. To learn more about the RTA, please go to https//healx.io/rta.