In August 2017 it was announced that Aclaris Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ACRS) had acquired Confluence Life Sciences, a privately held small firm focused on the discovery and development of kinase inhibitors to treat inflammatory and immunological disorders and cancer. CLS had assembled a team of experts to develop a portfolio of projects that are first-and/or best-in-class drugs to address unmet medical needs in cancer and chronic inflammatory diseases. Specifically, CLSs team focused on the design and development of kinase inhibitors that target key enzymes involved in the regulation of cancer growth, metastasis and survival, or in modulation of chronic inflammation. CLS utilized a detailed understanding of the kinase enzymes and its proprietary KINect Discovery Platform to design proprietary inhibitors that are selective and have good drug-like properties. In addition, because of demand for the teams expertise, the company established a CRO - Confluence Discovery Technologies, Inc. - providing research support for clients from large pharma to academic scientists.
