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C4X Discovery announces selection of a once-daily development candidate from its α4β7 inhibitor programme

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C4X Discovery Holdings Ltd

C4X Discovery announces selection of a once-daily development candidate from its α4β7 inhibitor programme

A potent and selective α4β7 inhibitor with oral bioavailability to support once-daily dosing

22 September 2025 – C4X Discovery Holdings Ltd (“C4XD”), a pioneering Drug Discovery company, today announces the selection of a potential best-in-class pre-clinical candidate from its oral α4β7 integrin inhibitor programme for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The selected candidate supports once-daily dosing and presents a potentially transformative oral therapy for IBD patients.

IBD, which affects more than five million people worldwide1, represents a rapidly growing market projected to reach USD 47.7 billion by 20342. With many patients still underserved by current therapies, C4X Discovery’s oral α4β7 integrin inhibitor has the potential to deliver a much-needed, more convenient treatment option to a growing market.

The convenience of a targeted oral α4β7 inhibitor offers clear opportunities for oral therapies to advance ahead of biologics and significantly expand the number of treated patients. C4XD’s approach can be combined with other targeted therapies for patients with complex or refractory disease where existing approaches have failed to deliver sufficient control. By combining the established safety and efficacy of α4β7 inhibition with the convenience and accessibility of oral dosing, this treatment paradigm could potentially improve patient outcomes while reducing healthcare system burden. In addition, C4XD’s breakthrough of a genetic biomarker of response to α4β7 inhibition could enable more personalised treatment, supporting optimised clinical development and a pathway to patient stratification.

Nick Ray, CSO of C4X Discovery, commented: “Advancing our oral α4β7 programme to candidate selection represents a significant scientific achievement and validates our discovery approach. With additional data from our PAD4 and TNFα programmes expected in the coming months, we’re progressing a focused pipeline targeting key pathways in immuno-inflammatory disease. These programmes address distinct but complementary mechanisms, creating potential therapeutic options both as individual treatments and in combination approaches across different inflammatory conditions.”

Emma Blaney, CEO of C4X Discovery, said: “C4XD has a strong track record of partnering pre-clinical programmes at various stages in the drug discovery process. We plan to continue partnering discussions for our α4β7 programme during the remainder of 2025 and expect to generate pivotal data on our other programmes in the coming weeks. We’d like to thank our staff and investors for their continued support to advance our programmes such that we can work with the best partners to take them forward into the clinic.”

C4XD’s pipeline spans several high-value immuno-inflammatory indications. The company is currently advancing best-in-class oral α4β7 and TNFα inhibitors alongside a first-in-class PAD4 programme, encompassing both innovative monotherapies and strategic combination approaches across multiple therapeutic areas.

– Ends –

References:

  1. BMJ Open: Global, regional and national burden of inflammatory bowel disease in 204 countries and territories from 1990 to 2019: a systematic analysis based on the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019, https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/13/3/e065186
  2. Global Market Insights: Global Inflammatory Bowel Disease Treatment Market Size & Outlook, https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/inflammatory-bowel-disease-treatment-market

Contacts

C4X Discovery Holdings  
David Lawrence, Emma Blaney, Flora Shimi +44 (0)161 235 5085
   
C4X Discovery Media – ICR Healthcare  
Mary-Jane Elliott, Angela Gray, Lucy Featherstone +44 (0)203 709 5700
   

Notes to Editors:

About C4X Discovery

C4X Discovery (C4XD) is a pioneering Drug Discovery company, combining scientific expertise with cutting-edge technologies to efficiently deliver world leading next-generation oral medicines. Our enhanced molecular design capabilities deliver a highly differentiated approach to drug discovery, demonstrated by three high-value programmes we’ve successfully out-licensed to date. This discovery engine generates robust small molecule drug candidates for disease modifying targets, with industry leading safety profiles, to offer monotherapies and foundational combination partners for pipeline-in-a-product opportunities in immuno-inflammation. Our commercially attractive portfolio ranges from early-stage target opportunities to late-stage discovery programmes. Our strategy is to develop these candidates to a stage where we can out-license or collaborate with the best partners to execute clinical development and commercialisation.

For more information visit us at www.c4xdiscovery.com

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