The new agreement builds on a 2017 cooperation between the two companies.

As before, the current work will leverage Domain’s bioSens-All technology consisting of BRET based cellular assays, enabling them to investigate the native form of GPCRs. The results may constitute guidance for future drug discovery programs, the companies said.

Under the terms of the deal, Domain Therapeutics will be eligible to receive from Pfizer an upfront payment and research support, as well as potential discovery and clinical milestone payments for future Pfizer programs related to any drug targets that may be identified through the collaboration

Additional financial details were not disclosed.

The past and future partners said the profiling may enable them to potentially better understand the impact of GPCR point mutations on subsequent signaling events across multiple pathways and link to disease pathophysiology.

Morris Birnbaum, chief scientific officer, Internal Medicine, at Pfizer, said the US drugmaker believes Domain’s GPCR technology has the potential to help it identify drug targets across multiple therapeutic areas, including internal medicine, which could serve as the basis of potential future breakthrough research projects.

Pascal Neuville, CEO of Domain Therapeutics, said the project is “”further confirmation of our role as a key player in the field of GPCR target identification.” With teams in France and Canada, the company uses multiple technologies aimed at validating targets and discovering first-in-class therapies (small molecules or antibodies).

The drugs that target GPCRs represent about 30% of all treatments on the market, but address only 28% of the GPCRs. These remain largely underexploited to date, utilizing drug discovery engines using technologies such as bioSens-All, Domain said.

Author: Dede Williams, Freelance Journalist