CombiGene comments on the discontinued CGT2 project
CombiGene has terminated the preclinical development of the lipodystrophy project CGT2 after the data did not prove to be convincing enough to justify its continuation. According to the company, the discontinuation of the project means that resources can now be freed up for the COZY pain project in particular.
CombiGene in-licensed CGT2 from Lipigon Pharmaceuticals in 2019 to develop a gene therapy for the metabolic and rare disease partial lipodystrophy. In doing so, the company broadened its pipeline, which, until then had only focused on CG01, a gene therapy for severe drug-resistant focal epilepsy.
CombiGene has also been involved in the treatment of severe chronic pain conditions, with a focus on the peptide treatment COZY01 and the gene therapy treatment COZY02, in collaboration with the Danish biotech company Zyneyro.
The CGT2 project is discontinued
The lipodystrophy project CGT2 has seemingly played a minor research and marketing role as more and more focus has been on the pain project.
This week, CombiGene announced that the preclinical development of this project will be terminated and that the rights will given back to Lipigon Pharmaceuticals.
Comments from the CEO
BioStock reached out to CombiGene’s CEO Peter Ekolind for a comment on the decision to discontinue the development of CGT2 and what this means for the company.
To begin with, Peter, you have received a great deal of research funding for the development of CGT2. Despite this, what made you choose to end the development?
– We are grateful for the research contributions from Eurostars, which strengthen the quality of the project. It is a quality stamp for the project and the company’s ability to run projects at a high level. Despite this, we have now reached a point where the data no longer supports further development. Therefore, we have decided to end the project.
What insights and experiences do you bring with you from the development of CGT2?
– We bring with us in-depth knowledge of metabolic diseases and have strengthened our network of leading academic actors in Europe and the US. The conclusion of CGT2 also shows the importance of having a portfolio with several projects as it is in the nature of drug development that not all preclinical and clinical projects reach all the way to market approval, or, in our case, to a preclinical proof of concept that can be out-licensed to a global pharmaceutical partner.
In a press release, you state that you can now use freed-up resources for other activities. Does this mean that you can now allocate resources on other projects as well?
– Combigene’s business concept focuses on in-licensing, proof-of-concept development, and out-licensing to strategic partners for continued development and commercialisation. We plan to use the freed-up resources to expand the project portfolio and process material from Spark in the epilepsy project CG01.
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