Endo Pharmaceuticals and GVK Biosciences (GVK BIO), a CRO based in India, have entered into an agreement to collaborate on the development of small molecules targeting an undisclosed protein. Using its discovery expertise, GVK BIO will deliver a clinical candidate and Endo will be responsible for the development and commercialization of the product.

The partnership came out of GVK BIO's newly launched early discovery assets (EDA) program, which will focus on pain and inflammation, and is in line with Endo's specialties in pain, urology/oncology and endocrinology.

"We are delighted to partner with Endo as it continues to build its discovery pipeline through external collaborations. This collaboration also confirms the value of our differentiated EDA concept, conceived to collaborate with pharmaceutical partners on discovery projects, from target to clinical candidates," said Manni Kantipudi, CEO of GVK BIO, in a press statement.

Sandeep Gupta, PhD, Endo's senior vice-president of drug discovery and early development stated, "We are pleased to initiate this discovery collaboration with GVK BIO. With their world class infrastructure and an experienced scientific team, I have no doubt that they will execute on the program goals and add to our portfolio of development candidates that provide novel treatment options for the patients."

Earlier this month, GVK BIO entered into a joint partnership with Onconova Therapeutics to develop new drugs for cancer. The collaboration will align the research priorities and technological expertise of both companies to facilitate the advancement of Onconova's oncology assets from early discovery to clinical development stage. Onconova will provide two discovery targets with early chemical equity, while GVK BIO will use its multidisciplinary discovery platform to advance these programs through lead optimization and candidate selection for an investigational new drug application. This partnership with Onconova gives GVK BIO a growing share of the relevant discovery and development programs as they progress into clinical evaluation.