Opko Health, Inc. and The Scripps Research Institute Announce Global License Agreement for a Novel Compound That Blocks Brain Cell Destruction in Parkinson’s Disease

MIAMI & JUPITER, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--OPKO Health, Inc. (NYSE: OPK) and The Scripps Research Institute today announced a global agreement for the development and commercialization of SR 3306, a novel compound discovered by scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute that blocks the destruction of brains cells in animal models of Parkinson’s disease. Under the terms of the agreement, The Scripps Research Institute has granted to OPKO Health exclusive worldwide rights to develop, manufacture and commercialize SR 3306 and related compounds that inhibit a class of enzymes called jun-N-terminal kinsases (JNK) that play an important role in neuron survival. The new compound, a small molecule known as SR-3306, would potentially be the first to protect the brain from the ravages of Parkinson's disease.