Dynogen Pharmaceuticals Inc. is partnering with Johnson & Johnson to develop a new approach to therapies for overactive bladder.

Boston-based Dynogen will collaborate with Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development, a division of Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, in an indication that has a market estimated at $1 billion. Dynogen will use its in vivo pharmacology platform to study several neurological compounds.

"We think this a strong validation for our platform," Robert Lorette, Dynogen's chief business officer and senior vice president, told BioWorld Today. Noting that Beerse, Belgium-based Janssen would provide the compounds for the collaborative work, he added that Dynogen would provide biology and in vivo pharmacology know-how. "And that's our business strategy - we are not a chemistry company, but we look to partner for compounds and access to chemical libraries," he said.

Specific financial terms were not disclosed, nor were details related to the deal's structure as per a confidentiality agreement signed by both parties. But privately held Dynogen's technology will take center stage as the partnership develops.

"I think we are distinguished from most other companies trying to discover drugs in this area by using multiple species, which is important because micturition is regulated differently in various species at multiple levels," Karl Thor, Dynogen's chief scientific officer, told BioWorld Today. "At a physiological level, there are differences in how the micturition reflexes are organized."

He added that pharmacological responses vary among species, while molecular receptors are structurally different among different animals. The technology also includes models that are clinically relevant to the various subtypes of overactive bladder, such as the idiopathic type; a type associated with benign prostatic hyperplasia; neurogenic bladder, which is associated with nerve damage; and interstitial cystitis.

"We actually use our in vivo models for our in vitro studies as well," Thor said. "This is important because we have shown that there are changes in ion channels and G protein-coupled receptors following these pathological conditions."

As such, the company aims to allow normal micturition to proceed without impediment from its drugs. Other currently marketed drugs are anticholinergic products that primarily target smooth muscle, stopping pathological and normal input to the bladder while producing various side effects.

Dynogen's approach targets the C-fiber reflex pathways. Thor said a number of pathological problems underlying overactive bladder stem from unmyelinated C-fibers that become sensitized, preventing the bladder from filling at its normal, unpressurized pace. The fibers send the signals too early that can cause the bladder to contract involuntarily.

"We believe we can suppress C-fiber pathways," he added, "and when we suppress those, we can allow the myelinated Ad fibers that mediate the super-spinal reflex to function normally."

Dynogen also expects the collaborative work to complement existing internal programs. Founded in March 2002, its pipeline already includes an internally produced clinical candidate for overactive bladder, DDP-200, which is scheduled to enter Phase II testing early this year.

Another candidate on the same timeline is DDP-225, which is being developed for irritable bowel syndrome. That product was acquired through a technology transfer and license agreement with Tokyo-based Mitsubishi Pharma Corp. Last month, Dynogen gained rights to all clinical data and other needed research, development and manufacturing information for DDP-225 (formerly MCI-225), as well as a supply of drug material adequate to complete Phase II.

The company received initial venture capital funding of just more than $13 million about a year ago. Lorette said Dynogen's Series B round of funding remains open, though he expects it to close in the next couple of months. (See BioWorld Today, Nov. 14, 2002.)