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If you believe in the power of what science can do, join us in our endeavour to push the boundaries of science to deliver life-changing medicines.
Next generation therapeutics
Creating the next generation of therapeutics
We are constantly pushing the boundaries of science to deliver life-changing medicines which will have the greatest and swiftest impact on the diseases we are aiming to treat, prevent, modify and in the future, even cure. It is only by enhancing our understanding of disease biology and uncovering new ways of targeting the drivers of disease that we will create the next generation of therapeutics across our main therapy areas in Oncology, Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolism, and Respiratory and Immunology.
We are already leveraging the rapid advancements in science and technology to create new therapeutics, such as cell-based therapy, antibody therapeutics, and nucleotide-based therapeutics, for disease mechanisms which were previously considered difficult, if not impossible, to target.1 Additionally, we are working on integrating knowledge of drug candidates and their interactions with their target, the pathophysiology of disease and the delivery system in order to design advanced delivery technologies.2 Each new insight and every new piece of information brings us closer to creating better, more advanced and more effective treatments for patients.
Partnering with collaborators across the world is helping our scientists pioneer new approaches to drug discovery. In fact, 30% of our early pipeline now consists of new drug modalities including oligonucleotides, mRNA and Anticalin® proteins.
The technological toolbox fuelling our
next-generation pipeline
Selecting the right target with a strong link to the drivers of disease remains the most important decision we make in the drug discovery process. Once this target is selected, we now have a toolbox of traditional and innovative molecules which we can use to enable us to target the novel biology. You can explore our toolbox of modalities below.
Small molecules
Small molecules
We have a long history of discovering and developing orally delivered small molecule medicines by harnessing innovative approaches to drug design and delivery. Small molecules can be designed to engage biological targets by various modes of action and act both intracellularly and extracellularly. Their distribution can further be tailored to allow for systemic exposure with or without brain penetration. Click on the tiles below to read more about our research from traditional small molecules which have long been a cornerstone of our business, to ground-breaking, new small-molecule approaches such as PROTACs and zirconium cyclosilicates.
Antibody therapeutics
Antibody therapeutics
Antibodies can target proteins with exceptional accuracy and can be engineered to improve specificity, potency and affinity. We are expanding the scope of our antibody engineering platforms and designing new and improved therapeutics such as bispecific antibodies and fragment antibodies with an aim of accessing difficult-to-reach therapeutic targets. Learn more about our research efforts to create the next generation of antibody-based therapeutics by clicking on the tiles below.
Peptide or protein therapeutics
Peptide or protein therapeutics
Through our long-standing expertise in protein engineering, we are advancing both conventional and novel classes of protein and peptide therapies. Because proteins are large molecules, they are generally not cell permeable and have traditionally been restricted to extracellular targets and injectable administration routes. Peptides constitute a smaller format of protein therapeutics. They are typically developed as small, specific and highly selective ligands for extracellular targets.
Through various collaborations, we are exploring the development of not only traditional protein therapeutics and peptides but also potentially innovative therapies such as Anticalin® proteins and bicyclic peptides. Click the tiles below to read more about these novel drug modalities.
Nucleotide-based therapeutics & gene therapy
Nucleotide-based therapeutics & gene therapy
Recent advances in genomics has led to a myriad of potential new drug targets and with it, the opportunity for nucleotide-based therapeutics to have a real impact on disease. We are exploring a number of nucleotide-based modalities from oligonucleotides and RNA-based therapies to using CRISPR/Cas9 as a potential therapeutic tool. Click the tiles below to read more about these novel drug modalities.
Meet some of our pioneers of next generation therapeutics
Behind every advancement we make, there is a team of dedicated scientists. Find out more about some of our researchers working at the cutting-edge of drug discovery:
References
1. Valeur E, Guéret SM, Adihou H et al. New Modalities for Challenging Targets in Drug Discovery. Angewandte Chemie. 2017. 56(35): 10294-10323.
2. Ashford M. Drug Deliv Transl Res. 2020 Oct 6. doi: 10.1007/s13346-020-00858-6. Online ahead of print.
Collaborate with us
We know that however innovative our science, however effective our medicines and delivery, to achieve all we want to achieve, we cannot do it alone.
Veeva ID: Z4-58111
Date of preparation: September 2023