Karo Bio AB (HUDDINGE, Sweden), a drug discovery and development company specializing in nuclear receptors for the development of novel pharmaceuticals, and Zydus Cadila (headquartered in AHMEDABAD, India), one of India’s leading healthcare companies, announced a 3-year research collaboration to discover and develop novel, selective glucocorticoid receptor (GR) modulators for the treatment of inflammatory diseases.

The GR mediates both anti-inflammatory effects and side effects. Long-term use of glucocorticoids, used to treat many inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, psoriasis, and asthma, can lead to the development of unwanted side effects like obesity, diabetes, and osteoporosis. The collaboration will focus on selective glucocorticoids devoid of ≥1 side effects. Karo will leverage its expertise in nuclear receptor drug discovery including structural biology, drug design, and compound characterization. Zydus will carry out a focused drug discovery and development program, undertaking preclinical studies, filing of the Investigational New Drug (IND) application, and performing clinical trials. Both parties will equally share risk and rewards for the program.

Separately, Karo announced that it has reacquired exclusive worldwide rights to compounds and data related to a new class of selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs) developed by Karo and licensed in 2006 to Radius Health Inc (CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts), a company developing a new generation of drug therapies for osteoporosis and women’s health. Data generated from preclinical models by Radius identified androgen receptor antagonists that exhibited SARM properties, which means that they were stimulatory in bone and muscles at the same time as having neutral effects on prostate or uterine tissue. These compounds were in-licensed by Radius with intent to develop new compounds to treat osteoporosis. Karo has now reacquired all rights to the SARM compounds and to the related data generated by Radius.