LEO Pharma and X-Chem Enter Into Discovery Research Agreement
BALLERUP, Denmark, and WALTHAM, Mass., US; July 6, 2021 – LEO Pharma A/S, a global leader in medical dermatology and X-Chem, Inc., the global leader in DNA-encoded library (DEL) driven discovery solutions, announced today that they have entered into a research collaboration and license agreement. The goal of the collaboration is to discover and develop novel treatments for dermatological indications.
Under the terms of the agreement, X-Chem will deploy its proprietary DEL platform to identify novel drug-like leads against multiple inflammation targets of interest to LEO Pharma. LEO Pharma has the option to receive exclusive global rights to compounds derived from the partnership and will be responsible for preclinical and clinical research and development. LEO Pharma also retains all rights to commercialization of any potential new medicines emerging from the collaboration.
“At LEO Pharma, we are dedicated to changing the standards of care for people with skin diseases by bringing new innovative treatments forward that are either first or best in class. Supporting this ambition, we are excited to work with the X-Chem team to identify novel small molecule drug leads,” said Thorsten Thormann, Head of Research and early Development. “X-Chem’s DEL platform technology is a powerful approach giving us increased capabilities to feed our innovative project portfolio.”
X-Chem CEO Matt Clark, Ph.D., said, "We are delighted to partner with LEO Pharma, a global leader in medical dermatology R&D. We look forward to a productive partnership with many tractable drug leads.”
Contacts
LEO Pharma
Henrik Heskjær
HDTDK@leo-pharma.com
+45 3140 6180
X-Chem
Steffen Helmling, PhD
bd@x-chemrx.com
+1 781 4196900
About LEO Pharma
About LEO Pharma
LEO Pharma helps people achieve healthy skin. The company is a leader in medical dermatology with a robust R&D pipeline, a wide range of therapies and a pioneering spirit. Founded in 1908 and owned by the LEO Foundation, LEO Pharma has devoted decades of research and development to advance the science of dermatology, setting new standards of care for people with skin conditions. LEO Pharma is headquartered in Denmark with a global team of 6,000 people, serving 93 million patients in 130 countries. In 2020, the company generated net sales of DKK 10,133 million. For more information please visit www.LEO-Pharma.com.
About X-Chem
X-Chem, Inc. is the leader in small molecule discovery science, providing pharmaceutical and biotech companies a complete, seamless solution for screening, hit validation and lead optimization. As pioneers of DNA-encoded chemical library (DEL) technology, the company leverages its market-leading DEL platform to discover novel small molecule leads against challenging, high-value therapeutic targets. X-Chem empowers partners to rapidly screen billions of diverse, drug-like compounds simultaneously and easily identify potent hits that exhibit desired selectivity and mode of action with attractive physicochemical properties. In-house lead optimization services enable clients to progress their compounds directly for even higher quality outputs. Our expertise in medicinal chemistry, custom synthesis and scale-up process chemistry enables us to support all aspects of drug discovery, supporting lead optimization through candidate identification.
For more about X-Chem, visit x-chemrx.com.
Subscribe to releases from LEO Pharma
Subscribe to all the latest releases from LEO Pharma by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from LEO Pharma
LEO Pharma continues global rollout of Anzupgo® (delgocitinib) cream with submission of New Drug Application in China16.10.2025 15:30:00 CEST | Pressemeddelelse
LEO Pharma is seeking to expand the availability of Anzupgo® (delgocitinib) cream to China, as the company announces the submission of a New Drug Application (NDA) to the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA), which has been accepted for review for adult patients with moderate to severe chronic hand eczema. The NDA is supported by results from DELTA China, a phase 3 trial with Anzupgo in Chinese adults with moderate to severe chronic hand eczema (CHE)1 along with the full clinical program of delgocitinib, which includes data from DELTA 1,2 and 3, DELTA Force and DELTA Teen.2-7 The Anzupgo NDA submission demonstrates LEO Pharma's commitment to providing additional treatment options for patients living with skin diseases in China.
LEO Pharma closes deal for Spevigo®1.10.2025 09:00:00 CEST | Pressemeddelelse
Adding Spevigo® is a significant step forward in LEO Pharma’s focused growth strategy, to accelerate and expand patients’ access to treatments for medical dermatological conditions, including generalized pustular psoriasis (GPP), a rare and severe skin condition Spevigo® (spesolimab) is a first-in-class IL-36R antagonist successfully developed and launched by Boehringer Ingelheim and approved globally for the treatment and prevention of GPP flares Spesolimab is also being investigated for the treatment of other IL-36-mediated skin diseases
LEO Pharma Presents Late-Breaking Data at EADV 2025 Showing Week 16 Tralokinumab Response Predicts Long-Term Response in Moderate-to-Severe Atopic Dermatitis19.9.2025 16:00:00 CEST | Pressemeddelelse
Late-breaking data from the ECZTEND trial show that patients with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis (AD), who responded to Adtralza® (tralokinumab) / Adbry® (tralokinumab-ldrm) at Week 16, maintained stable, optimal treatment outcomes for up to three years.1 Additional data presented at EADV from the real-world TRACE study further support the long-term use of tralokinumab, with sustained improvements in disease severity, quality of life, sleep, and work productivity observed over 12 months of treatment.2-4 Presented as part of LEO Pharma’s most ambitious scientific program to date at the 2025 EADV Congress, the tralokinumab data reinforce the company’s leadership in medical dermatology and its commitment to advancing innovation across its biologics’ portfolio.
LEO Pharma Presents Late-Breaking Phase 3 Delgocitinib Cream Data in Adolescents with Moderate to Severe Chronic Hand Eczema (CHE)18.9.2025 15:45:00 CEST | Pressemeddelelse
The first late-breaking presentation was the phase 3 trial results for DELTA TEEN, showing delgocitinib cream had superior efficacy compared to cream vehicle and was generally well tolerated in adolescents, aged 12-17, with moderate to severe Chronic Hand Eczema (CHE) for whom topical corticosteroids are inadequate or inappropriate.1 In a second late-breaking presentation, pooled data from five phase 2b and phase 3 trials of delgocitinib cream confirmed a consistent safety profile for the treatment of moderate to severe CHE in adults.2 Fifteen other pieces of delgocitinib cream research formed part of LEO Pharma’s most ambitious scientific program to date at EADV 2025.3-17
LEO Pharma presents two late-breaking abstracts for temtokibart reporting positive Phase 2b efficacy, safety and biomarker results in moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis at the 2025 EADV Annual Meeting in Paris17.9.2025 16:00:00 CEST | Pressemeddelelse
Results presented at EADV 2025 demonstrated that investigational agent temtokibart met its primary endpoint of percentage change in the Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI) compared with placebo for the three highest doses (600 mg, 450 mg, and 300 mg).1 Significantly greater improvements in EASI were reported as early as Week 1 for temtokibart 450mg and 300mg, and Week 2 for 600mg, vs placebo; these results were maintained up to Week 32 in 600mg and 300mg arms, despite no treatment after Week 14.1 Safety analyses revealed that temtokibart was well-tolerated with no dose-dependent AEs, a low incidence of conjunctivitis, and no signal for herpes.1
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom