Aurigene and Kainomyx Collaborate to Develop Anti-Malaria Drug

Aurigene Pharmaceutical Services, the CRDMO unit of Indian Dr. Reddy’s, has signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Kainomyx, a US-based company with a proprietary platform that helps target the parasite’s cytoskeletal proteins, for the development and commercialization of an affordable anti-malarial drug in the US, Europe, and low- and middle-income countries.

The MoU remains subject to the signing of a definitive agreement, the companies said.

Malaria is a serious health challenge with disproportionately high incidence among vulnerable populations in low-income countries. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), an alarming 249 million cases of malaria and 608,000 deaths from malaria were reported in 2022. It has been widely reported that climate change will increase the incidence of such vector-borne diseases. Through this collaboration, the two companies intend to drive a comprehensive R&D agenda to leverage their respective strengths and accelerate the project.

Under the MoU, Kainomyx will lead the technology strategy and related aspects of drug development and clinical phases, while Aurigene will focus on developing cost-effective and scalable medicinal chemistry. Dr. Reddy’s plans to bring in its regulatory and market access expertise as the project develops.

Deepak Sapra, CEO of API and Services at Dr. Reddy's, said, "Public health and access is a strategic area for us and malaria remains a very important disease that requires innovative and affordable medicines. The MoU signed with Kainomyx is a promising step in this direction to help improve global health outcomes and achieve Dr. Reddy's vision of reaching 1.5 billion patients by 2030."

Aurigene CEO Akhil Ravi added, "We are excited to partner with Dr. Spudich and the Kainomyx team because of their expertise in bringing innovative medicines to the market. We share a common vision of addressing global health issues by serving neglected populations."

Kainomyx Executive Chairman James Spudich commented, "Discovering new medicines to treat malaria and other parasitic diseases is critical as resistance to existing therapies is rapidly evolving. Through decades of research, we have a deep understanding of how cytoskeletal proteins work. Cytoskeletal proteins are critical to all organisms and we are leveraging this to specifically target the cytoskeleton to treat malaria."