March 1, 2018 – AskAt Inc. (headquartered in Nagoya, Japan) (AskAt) and Aratana Therapeutics, Inc. (headquartered in Leawood, Kansas) (Aratana) today announced a collaboration to create a groundbreaking innovation platform in animal health. The companies will jointly pursue research and development in animal health treatment with a series of compounds developed by AskAt for human health.
In addition, Aratana has licensed the exclusive, worldwide rights to develop and commercialize AAT-008, a potent and innovative EP4 antagonist candidate with potential in pain, inflammation and other indications. This separate AAT-008 license agreement includes upfront and milestone payments, and tiered royalties based on net sales.
AskAt is developing AAT-007, an EP4 antagonist for use in humans, which was previously developed by Aratana and approved by the FDA for osteoarthritis pain in dogs.
AskAt’s compound portfolio also includes a CB2 agonist for pain and immunology, a Cox-2 inhibitor for acute, chronic and neuropathic pain, and a 5-HT4 agonist for cognitive improvement.
Aratana’s CEO, Dr. Steven St. Peter commented, “We believe our alliance with AskAt will power animal health innovation. It is our objective that together we can deliver needed treatment options for dogs and cats in several important areas of unmet clinical need to elevate the standard of care in veterinary medicine.”
AskAt’s CEO, Akihiro Furuta said, “the AskAt team is delighted to begin this collaboration with Aratana, a recognized and highly innovative leader in the animal health field. We feel that our portfolio of programs aligns well with Aratana’s strategic direction and hope to generate multiple candidates to advance animal health across the globe.”
About AskAt.
AskAt is a new kind of life sciences company, an open collaboration catalyst. AskAt accelerates small molecule R&D innovation by designing optimized platforms and value-enhancing life cycle partnering opportunities around its core intellectual property. AskAt’s programs concentrate in therapeutic areas of critical, unmet patient needs, including cancer, Alzheimer’s Disease, pain, autoimmune disorders, and blindness caused by macular degeneration. For more information, please contact info@askat.co.jp.
About Aratana Therapeutics, Inc.
Aratana is a pet therapeutics company focused on licensing, developing and commercializing innovative therapeutics for dogs and cats. As a pioneer in pet therapeutics, Aratana’s mission is to deliver safe and effective therapeutics that elevate the standard of care in veterinary medicine. Aratana works with companion animal veterinarians to bring new therapeutics to market that support the needs of pets and their owners. For more information, please visit www.aratana.com.
