4E Therapeutics, an Austin-based neuroscience company focused on next-generation treatments for chronic pain, has been acquired by Eli Lilly and Company. The transaction brings together 4E’s orally available MNK inhibitor program with Lilly’s broader neuroscience capabilities and portfolio. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
4E is developing MNK inhibitors that target the MNK-eIF4E signaling pathway in peripheral sensory neurons, with the aim of treating chronic pain while avoiding the central nervous system effects seen with many existing therapies. The company’s lead compound, 4ET1103, is the first MNK inhibitor specifically developed for pain to enter human clinical testing and has shown a favorable safety profile in a Phase 1 study.
Co-founder, president and chairman Joe Price said 4E Therapeutics was established to develop non-opioid therapies that address the neurological mechanisms underlying pain and described Lilly’s clinical development and global commercial infrastructure as well suited to advance the program. Co-founder Theodore Price, Ph.D., who also directs the Center for Advanced Pain Studies at The University of Texas at Dallas, noted that seeing the MNK-eIF4E science move from basic research into clinical development and now into Lilly’s pipeline underscores the potential to accelerate new treatments for people living with chronic pain.
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