Cereno Scientifics strategy is to develop innovative treatments for common and rare cardiovascular diseases (CVD) with disease-modifying capacity, which are safer and have fewer side effects compared to current alternatives, to improve patients' quality of life and longevity.
The company already has a candidate, CS1, in clinical phase II development in the rare disease pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). In 2022, Cereno nominated two preclinical candidates to develop and take to the clinic: CS585 and CS014. Read more.
Collaboration with the University of Michigan
The story of the expanded and diversified portfolio began back in 2020. Then Cereno began a research collaboration with the Cardiovascular Centre at University of Michigan (OUM), one of the largest and most reputable cardiovascular research centers in the world. Principal Investigator Dr. Michael Holinstat, who is now Cereno's Director of Translational Research, initiated the preclinical studies with compounds from Cereno's development program.
License Agreement for CS585
A year later, in the spring of 2021, Cereno and UoM signed agreements for two joint 24-month programs regarding CS014 and CS585. Cereno had previously acquired the drug candidate CS014 from Emeriti Bio. However, since Dr Michael Holinstat invented CS585 at UoM and UoM held the patent rights, Cereno was keen to secure the future rights to CS585. The company therefore signed an option agreement stipulating that if the preclinical evaluations of CS585 were successful, Cereno could exercise its option to exclusively in-license the drug candidate for further development and commercialization.
On April 4, 2023, Cereno announced that, based on the positive data obtained with CS585, it is exercising its option and signing a license agreement for CS585 with UoM. The company also announced that it has extended the preclinical collaboration agreements it has with UoM for both CS585 and CS014.
Cereno has not yet announced an initial target indication for CS585, but the molecule's potential is now being investigated in several cardiovascular indications.
Cereno CEO Sten R. Sörensen commented on the new agreement with UoM:
“We are pleased to enter into this licensing agreement with the University of Michigan. It fits well with our growth strategy and adds value to our portfolio in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and thrombosis. The extension of the preclinical collaboration agreements with UoM is based on a fruitful outcome of the ongoing 24-month collaboration programs signed in spring 2021.”
Dr. Holinstat was also pleased with the agreement:
“The drug candidate CS585 has provided us with promising data and I look forward to continuing the preclinical development program together with Cereno.”
Interesting future for CS585
The company's high expectations for the candidates appear to be justified, not least with regard to CS585. Dr. Michael Holinstat presented preclinical data related to CS585 at AND HAS 2022 Hybrid Congress last June, and again at ACC.23/WCC Conference last month. Data showed that CS585 can not only prevent blood clot formation, but can also do so without significantly increasing the risk of bleeding. If these results were replicated in a clinical setting, they would represent a breakthrough in thrombosis prevention. Watch a video here where Dr. Holinstat explains CS585's mechanism of action.
Overall, the collaboration between Cereno Scientific and the University of Michigan has so far been a testament to the power of academia-industry collaboration to drive innovation and advance scientific understanding.