H. Lundbeck A/S (Lundbeck) announced that it has signed agreements with Zenobia Therapeutics (Zenobia) and Vernalis plc (Vernalis) which will provide Lundbeck with access to know-how relevant for making inhibitors for Leucine-rich repeat kinases. A member of this family of kinases, the Leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) is a high priority target for Lundbeck due to it's relevance in several therapeutic indications, including Parkinson's disease.

Lundbeck will collaborate with Zenobia and utilize Zenobia's expertise in protein expression and x-ray crystallography for the LRRK2 target. Under the agreement, Zenobia will complete x-ray crystal structures of wild-type and a Parkinson's disease associated mutant in complex with Lundbeck lead compounds. Zenobia retains all rights and ownership of the LRRK2 structure and to their internal LRRK2 chemistry programme. The financial terms of this collaboration are not disclosed.

The Vernalis agreement will focus on a drug discovery collaboration utilising Vernalis' fragment and structure-based drug discovery platform. Under the terms of the agreement, Lundbeck and Vernalis will collaborate in identifying candidate compounds that can inhibit LRRK2. Vernalis will receive fees and a potential share in the downstream success of the product in the form of milestones and royalties on sales. The financial terms of this collaboration are not disclosed.

“These collaborations are important supplements to Lundbeck's commitment to provide new innovative medicines in the CNS field in areas with high unmet needs. They represent another step in Lundbeck's new R&D strategy to ensure we have the most efficient platform for the future discovery and development of drugs that will be able to help and treat biologically defined groups of patients with brain diseases. It is this type of drugs we expect will be in demand in the future”, says Peter Høngaard Andersen, executive vice president, research management at Lundbeck.

LRRK2, also known as dardarin, is an enzyme that is encoded by the LRRK2 gene. Mutations in this gene represent one of the risk factors for the development of Parkinson's disease. Four LRRK2 gene variants found are found in the familial Parkinson's cases, but infrequent in the general population. LRRK2 inhibition potentially has neuro-protective propensities as it seems the gene is expressed at high levels in dopamine producing neurons.

The content of this release will have no influence on the Lundbeck Group's financial guidance for 2010 which was provided on 4 March 2010 in connection with the release of the financial results for 2009 and further specified with the release of the third quarter report on 3 November 2010.

Vernalis is a development stage pharmaceutical company with significant expertise in taking promising product candidates along a commercially-focused path to market. The company has one marketed product, frovatriptan for the acute treatment of migraine, and nine candidates in development, six of which are designated priority programmes.

Zenobia provides a commercial fragment library, and access to their structural biology, crystallography and fragment-based lead discovery expertise through partnerships, consulting and collaborations. Zenobia's internal programmes combine fragment-based lead discovery with the expertise of biologists and clinicians to find treatments for devastating illnesses for which there is no disease altering treatment such as Parkinson's disease and paediatric neuroblastoma.

Lundbeck was founded in 1915 by Hans Lundbeck in Copenhagen, Denmark. H. Lundbeck A/S is an international pharmaceutical company highly committed to improving the quality of life for people suffering from Central Nervous System (CNS) disorders.