Sosei Group Corporation, an international biopharmaceutical group focused on the discovery and early development of new medicines, has entered into an agreement with Tempero Bio, under which Tempero Bio has in-licensed exclusive global rights to Sosei Heptares’ mGlu5 negative allosteric modulator (NAM) program to develop therapies targeting substance use disorders and anxiety. Tempero Bio is a new company created by Aditum Bio in collaboration with Sosei Heptares to develop the mGlu5 NAM program, including the candidate HTL0014242 (TMP-301), which is in Phase I studies. Tempero Bio will be funded by Aditum Bio.

Aditum Bio is an investment firm focused on acquiring and developing biotechnology assets that target large patient population health needs. Its strategy is to create individual “spin-out” companies to implement Phase I and Phase II clinical trials to speed these drugs to market.

Aditum Bio also aims to combine behavior modification, though digital devices (e.g. mobile apps), with pharmaceuticals to support patient treatment, improve adherence and ultimately create better patient outcomes.

Aditum Bio was co-founded by industry veterans Joe Jimenez, former CEO of Novartis, and Mark Fishman, former President of the Novartis Institute for Biomedical Research. The firm works in collaboration with TrialSpark, a tech-enabled platform that conducts innovative clinical trials faster and at lower cost than traditional clinical development organizations.

Under the terms of the agreement, Tempero Bio will obtain exclusive global rights to a portfolio of potent, orally available metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGlu5) NAM modulators, including HTL0014242, which were precision-designed by Sosei Heptares using its GPCR Structure-Based Drug Design (SBDD) platform. The candidate HTL0014242 will be renamed TMP-301.

Tempero Bio will also gain access to a substantial clinical and preclinical data package, patents and proprietary know-how on the program generated by Sosei Heptares. In return, Sosei Heptares² receives an upfront payment and strategic equity stake in Tempero Bio, and is eligible to receive future success-based development and commercial milestone payments plus tiered royalties from any future product sales. Further financial details were not disclosed.

Glutamate is one of the most abundant excitatory neurotransmitters in the human nervous system and alterations in glutamate signaling, and mGlu5, are associated with a range of neurological disorders, such as addiction and anxiety. HTL0014242 is one of a series of potent and selective mGlu5 NAMs designed by Sosei Heptares to reduce excessive glutamate signaling and provide opportunities for new therapies in areas of high unmet medical need.

Joe Jimenez, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Aditum Bio, said: “We created Aditum Bio to select and develop clinical assets using a novel approach combining data, software and technology to speed development.”

Shinichi Tamura, President and CEO of Sosei Heptares, commented: “This exciting new agreement adds another co-owned investment to our portfolio, which we believe can be a route to creating new products for patients and long-term value for shareholders.”