Medicxi Links With Sosei Heptares For Orexin Agonist Vehicles

Underpinned by a strong background in the CNS space and experience with the orexin system, Medicxi, the European life sciences venture capitalist, is investing up to €40m in two asset-centric companies with assets spun out of Sosei Group's Heptares Therapeutics Ltd.. Both companies will focus on developing novel therapies based on positive modulators of the G protein-coupled receptors Orexin OX1 and OX2 for neurological diseases, including dual OX1/OX2 agonists. This is a group of molecules that has been on Medicxi’s wish list for some time.

“Orexin is one of the best validated targets and already a number of antagonists have been made. Minerva, one of our portfolio companies has one. We have also been interested in orexin agonists