HitGen, a privately held biotech company focused on technology for effective and efficient small molecule drug discovery and development, announced a collaboration with The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) and its affiliate, the California Institute for Biomedical Research (Calibr). This collaboration is to discover and develop potential new therapies in areas of unmet clinical need, with an initial focus in oncology, regenerative medicine and virology.

HitGen’s technology platform, centered around the design, synthesis, and interrogation of multi‐billion component libraries of DNA encoded small molecules, will be deployed to identify new small molecule leads for therapeutic targets identified by the collaboration. Leaders in basic and translational research at TSRI and Calibr will provide target materials and relevant know‐how to prosecute drug targets of interest. The parties will contribute in‐kind to the discovery efforts and anticipate progressing any drug candidates that emerge to clinical proof‐of‐concept studies.

“We are delighted to partner with HitGen to further the combined TSRI‐Calibr mission to create new medicines for unmet needs. HitGen’s commitment to developing and deploying DEL technology is a great fit for our new model for translational research in the non‐profit sector,” commented Peter Schultz, President and Professor of Chemistry at TSRI, and CEO of Calibr.

“We are excited to collaborate with Prof. Schultz and his colleagues at TSRI‐Calibr as a strategic partner for these discovery efforts, and we acknowledge the fundamental contributions of TSRI Professors Sydney Brenner and Richard Lerner in initiating the field of DNA‐encoded chemistry technology,” said Dr. Jin Li, chairman and CEO of HitGen. “HitGen continues to grow as a world‐class drug discovery organization. We are keenly focused on engaging with world‐leading academic institutions to provide new solutions for unmet medical need.”