Anaxis Pharma

Anaxis Pharma, established in 2017, is a privately held Australian biotechnology company operating at the preclinical stage. The firm was created as a spinout of Catalyst Therapeutics to commercialize a program focused on inflammatory cell death. This initiative is structured as a joint venture between the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI) and SYNthesis Research, leveraging WEHI's deep biological expertise and SYNthesis' medicinal chemistry capabilities. The Chief Executive Officer is Professor Andrew Wilks, who also leads SYNthesis BioVentures. His work includes the invention and commercialization of the myelofibrosis drug momelotinib.

The company's core business revolves around the discovery and development of small molecule therapeutics designed to inhibit necroptosis, a form of programmed inflammatory cell death. This process is implicated in the pathology of numerous chronic inflammatory diseases, representing a significant unmet medical need. Anaxis Pharma's primary therapeutic targets include conditions such as irritable bowel disease, Crohn's disease, liver fibrosis, and reperfusion injury. By focusing on necroptosis, the company aims to address the root cause of inflammation without inducing immune suppression, offering a differentiated approach compared to current standard-of-care treatments. The drug development pipeline is centered on hit-to-lead progression, lead optimization, and the selection of preclinical candidates.

Anaxis Pharma's lead programs are directed at inhibiting key proteins in the necroptosis pathway, specifically receptor-interacting serine/threonine-protein kinase 1 (RIPK1) and mixed lineage kinase domain-like protein (MLKL). The company has developed compounds that show binding affinity for both proteins and has demonstrated the ability to inhibit necroptosis in human cell lines. This progress has been accelerated through access to the drug discovery capabilities of WEHI's National Drug Discovery Centre. The business model involves advancing these proprietary programs through preclinical development to attract partnerships and funding from major pharmaceutical companies for clinical advancement. Since 2017, Anaxis has entered into a partnership with a multinational pharmaceutical firm to advance its programs toward the clinic, with first-in-class inhibitors anticipated to enter clinical trials in early 2025. The company is currently raising capital to facilitate these IND-enabling studies.

Keywords: necroptosis inhibitors, inflammatory disease therapeutics, small molecule drugs, RIPK1 inhibitors, MLKL inhibitors, Crohn's disease treatment, inflammatory bowel disease, liver fibrosis, drug discovery, preclinical biotech, cell death modulation, kinase inhibitors, pseudokinase modulators, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, SYNthesis Research, Andrew Wilks, Australian biotech, biopharmaceutical development, medicinal chemistry, lead optimisation