UK based drug discovery company C4X Discovery Holdings plc has announced that it has signed a licensing agreement with Indivior UK Limited to further develop and commercialise C4XD’s oral Orexin-1 receptor antagonist ("C4X3256") for the treatment of addiction.

C4X3256 aims to treat addiction by targeting the "craving" process itself and, therefore, can be applied across a broad range of substance use disorders.

The treatment of addiction represents a substantial area of unmet medical need, forecast to be worth an estimated $13 billion per annum in 20181.

Under the terms of the agreement, C4XD will receive an upfront payment of $10 million and could receive up to $284 million of potential development, regulatory and commercialization milestones in addition to royalties. In turn, Indivior receives a global and exclusive licence to C4X3256 and all other compounds in the same patent family and is responsible for the cost and execution of all further development of C4X3256. The agreement covers the development of Orexin-1 antagonists for multiple indications.

C4X3256 has the potential to represent a major new method of treating addiction and related disorders. The Orexin-1 receptor is considered to be central to the brain’s craving and reward pathways but to date a lack of specificity has hindered clinical development. C4XD’s drug discovery engine has allowed the discovery of a highly specific Orexin-1 antagonist that targets Orexin-1 but not Orexin-2, which is targeted in the treatment of insomnia.

C4X3256 is a novel, potent and selective oral Orexin-1 antagonist. It has demonstrated excellent preclinical efficacy and tolerability in several preclinical models of addiction.

Dr Clive Dix, CEO of C4X Discovery, said: "C4X Discovery is a pioneer in drug discovery and today’s licensing agreement with Indivior, a world-leader in developing and commercialising treatments for addiction, highlights the ability of our drug discovery engine to generate best-in-class small-molecule candidates in high value therapeutic areas. Our goal is to drive returns through early-stage revenue-generating deals with the pharmaceutical industry. This agreement will allow us to accelerate the development of our portfolio to similar successful commercial arrangements and validates our business model."

The C4XD portfolio continues to progress as planned, and a full portfolio update will be given in C4XD’s Interim Results in April 2018.