WELCOME TO FCTDI
a remarkable difference in scientific discovery
WELCOME TO FCTDI
a remarkable difference in scientific discovery
PURSUING THE TREATMENT OF HUMAN DISEASE
We are passionate about our mission to design, prepare, and evaluate new drugs for potential use in human therapy—and the opportunity to help people worldwide by treating human disease.
Allen Reitz, Ph.D., CEO
Fox Chase Therapeutics Discovery, Inc. (FCTDI) is a science-based company focused on applying best discovery practices of early-stage drug and probe discovery research including modern computational methods and chemical biology, laboratory medicinal chemistry, ADME characterization, and cutting-edge pharmacological screening all in the support of translational research programs.
We seek to engage with scientists who share in our mission of discovery to ultimately treat human disease. We bring distinctive value to our collaboration partners through innovation, creativity, practical application, the development of new intellectual property and thought leadership.
Fox Chase Therapeutics Discovery, Inc. (FCTDI) is a science-based company focused on applying best discovery practices of early-stage drug and probe discovery research including modern computational methods and chemical biology, laboratory medicinal chemistry, ADME characterization, and cutting-edge pharmacological screening all in the support of translational research programs.
We seek to engage with scientists who share in our mission of discovery to ultimately treat human disease. We bring distinctive value to our collaboration partners through innovation, creativity, practical application, the development of new intellectual property and thought leadership.
We are passionate about our mission to design, prepare, and evaluate new drugs for potential use in human therapy—and the opportunity to help people worldwide by treating human disease.
Allen Reitz, Ph.D., CEO
FCTDI provides translational early stage target validation and drug discovery support to pharmacologists or medical doctors at universities or nonprofit research organizations to translate their ideas and conceptions from being an idea or glimmer in the mind of a researcher to translate that into an actual potential candidate or body of work, which could then warrant further funding.
We have access to an onsite collection of more than 34,000 reagents and starting materials, which have been accumulated by the nonprofit Pennsylvania Drug Discovery Institute. Having reagents onsite and freely available to us is a tremendous advantage because we can conduct lead optimization much faster than would be the case if we didn’t have these reagents.
WATCH VIDEO
FCTDI provides translational early stage target validation and drug discovery support to pharmacologists or medical doctors at universities or nonprofit research organizations to translate their ideas and conceptions from being an idea or glimmer in the mind of a researcher to translate that into an actual potential candidate or body of work, which could then warrant further funding.
We have access to an onsite collection of more than 34,000 reagents and starting materials, which have been accumulated by the nonprofit Pennsylvania Drug Discovery Institute. Having reagents onsite and freely available to us is a tremendous advantage because we can conduct lead optimization much faster than would be the case if we didn’t have these reagents.
WATCH VIDEO
WORKING TOWARD THE DISCOVERY OF NEW THERAPEUTICS
The Wistar Institute Collaboration
Our project involved more than 22 full-time equivalents (or 22 person-years’ worth of chemistry support in the lab, resulting in more than 2,500 drug candidates being prepared, which is more than 100 drug candidates per-person, per year.
“FCTDI was instrumental in getting the VK-2019 project off the ground. They helped us put together a successful grant application, facilitating more than $13 million in grant funding over the course of seven years.
The hands-on interaction we had with Fox Chase was valuable to us. We now consider, people from FCTDI as our friends and our mentors in medicinal chemistry.”
~ Troy Messick Ph.D., Staff Scientist,
The Wistar Institute
TOGETHER WITH OUR COLLABORATION PARTNERS
FCTDI ADVANCES 3 DRUG CANDIDATES TO CLINICAL TRIALS
With the introduction into human clinical trials of three new drug candidates working with collaboration partners, we have had an impact that far exceeds the numbers of our staff or our overall footprint. Although the attrition rate for new medicines, once they enter human clinical trials is high we hope and expect that one or more of these therapies will be approved and then commercialized to treat patients.
Troriluzole for the treatment of spinocerebellar ataxia and obsessive compulsive disorders (Biohaven Pharmaceuticals)
Troriluzole.
A New Drug Application (NDA) for troriluzole was filed by Biohaven Pharmaceuticals with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in May, 2023 for the treatment of spinocerebellar ataxia SCA3.
FCTDI has worked with Biohaven Pharmaceuticals (www.biohaven.com) since 2015 to advance prodrugs of riluzole including third-generation prodrug troriluzole which is actively transported by virtue of having a tripeptide moiety. Troriluzole was acquired by Biohaven Pharmaceuticals and is under clinical evaluation for the treatment of spinocerebellar ataxia and obsessive compulsive disorders and related conditions. It is described in US 10,485,791 (Nov. 26, 2019), US 10,639,298 (May 5, 2020),US 10,905,681 (Feb. 2, 2021) and US 11,052,070 (Jul. 6, 2021) with FCTDI staff listed as inventors.
OLX-07010 for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease (Oligomerix, Inc.)
OLX-07010.
As part of a collaborative research project, FCTDI has worked with Oligomerix, Inc. (www.oligomerix.com) since early 2015 to discover new small molecules that inhibit aggregation of the protein tau for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders. From this work OLX-07010 was selected and advanced through preclinical development to First-in-Human clinical dosing on Feb.2, 2023 (https://oligomerix.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Oligomerix-Ph1a-Clinical-Trial-)
VK-2019 for the treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (Wistar Institute)
VK-2019.
FCTDI has performed collaborative research with The Wistar Institute (www.wistar.org) since 2010 to advance small inhibitors of Epstein Barr Nuclear Antigen EBNA1 for the treatment of cancer. This work was supported by two rounds of funding from the Welcome Trust for a total amount of >$11M. This work is described in Messick, T. E. et al. Structure-based design of small-molecule inhibitors of EBNA1DNA binding blocks Epstein-Barr virus latent infection and tumor growth. Sci. Transl. Med.11,eaau5612 (2019) [I’ve attached the actual publication which is OK to add to the Resource Page since it’s been publicly disclosed by the publisher]. Lead VK-2019 was advanced into human clinical trials for the treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma at Stanford University and is included in US 10,442,763 (Oct. 15,2019) and US 10,981, 867 (Apr. 20, 2021), both entitled “EBNA1 inhibitors and methods using same,” listing FCTDI and Wistar staff as inventors.
TOGETHER WITH OUR COLLABORATION PARTNERS FCTDI ADVANCES 3 DRUG CANDIDATES TO CLINICAL TRIALS
With the introduction into human clinical trials of three new drug candidates working with collaboration partners, we have had an impact that far exceeds the numbers of our staff or our overall footprint. Although the attrition rate for new medicines, once they enter human clinical trials is high we hope and expect that one or more of these therapies will be approved and then commercialized to treat patients.
Troriluzole for the treatment of spinocerebellar ataxia and obsessive compulsive disorders (Biohaven Pharmaceuticals)
Troriluzole.
FCTDI has worked with Biohaven Pharmaceuticals (www.biohaven.com) since 2015 to advance prodrugs of riluzole including third-generation prodrug troriluzole which is actively transported by virtue of having a tripeptide moiety. Troriluzole was acquired by Biohaven Pharmaceuticals and is under clinical evaluation for the treatment of spinocerebellar ataxia and obsessive compulsive disorders and related conditions. It is described in US 10,485,791 (Nov. 26, 2019), US 10,639,298 (May 5, 2020),US 10,905,681 (Feb. 2, 2021) and US 11,052,070 (Jul. 6, 2021) with FCTDI staff listed as inventors.
OLX-07010 for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease (Oligomerix, Inc.)
OLX-07010.
As part of a collaborative research project, FCTDI has worked with Oligomerix, Inc. (www.oligomerix.com) since early 2015 to discover new small molecules that inhibit aggregation of the protein tau for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders. From this work OLX-07010 was selected and advanced through preclinical development to First-in-Human clinical dosing on Feb.2, 2023 (https://oligomerix.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Oligomerix-Ph1a-Clinical-Trial-)
VK-2019 for the treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (Wistar Institute)
VK-2019.
FCTDI has performed collaborative research with The Wistar Institute (www.wistar.org) since 2010 to advance small inhibitors of Epstein Barr Nuclear Antigen EBNA1 for the treatment of cancer. This work was supported by two rounds of funding from the Welcome Trust for a total amount of >$11M. This work is described in Messick, T. E. et al. Structure-based design of small-molecule inhibitors of EBNA1DNA binding blocks Epstein-Barr virus latent infection and tumor growth. Sci. Transl. Med.11,eaau5612 (2019) [I’ve attached the actual publication which is OK to add to the Resource Page since it’s been publicly disclosed by the publisher]. Lead VK-2019 was advanced into human clinical trials for the treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma at Stanford University and is included in US 10,442,763 (Oct. 15,2019) and US 10,981, 867 (Apr. 20, 2021), both entitled “EBNA1 inhibitors and methods using same,” listing FCTDI and Wistar staff as inventors.
The Wistar Institute Collaboration
Our project involved more than 22 full-time equivalents (or 22 person-years’ worth of chemistry support in the lab, resulting in more than 2,500 drug candidates being prepared, which is more than 100 drug candidates per-person, per year.
“FCTDI was instrumental in getting the VK-2019 project off the ground. They helped us put together a successful grant application, facilitating more than $13 million in grant funding over the course of seven years.
The hands-on interaction we had with Fox Chase was valuable to us. We now consider, people from FCTDI as our friends and our mentors in medicinal chemistry.”
~ Troy Messick Ph.D., Staff Scientist, The Wistar Institute
