Baltimore, MD. March, 27, 2008 Avanti Therapeutics, a privately held biopharmaceutical company, said it has incubated and launched a new bionanotechnology company for targeted drug delivery called Chikujee Therapeutics.
Chikujee Therapeutics hopes to commercialize nanomedicines using its proprietary, cell specific targeted drug delivery technology originally developed by, and licensed from, Avanti Therapeutics. The company is an emerging specialty bionanotechnology company with expertise in the development of target specific delivery of biopharmaceuticals. The company will employ several platform technologies to manipulate and enhance the performance of drugs. These technologies can be employed with new chemical entities or with generic drugs and can be used with the spectrum of existing drug types ranging from small synthetic molecules to large recombinant macromolecules.
The company’s strategy is to use this innovative targeted drug delivery technology to build a portfolio of potentially safer and more effective versions of well-known anti- cancer agents. We believe that our target specific drug development program may lower the risks inherent in developing new drugs because we are customizing our TSDV™ to well defined and widely used radiotherapy and chemotherapy drugs. The company will initially focus the development efforts on applying TSDV™ to two of the fastest growing classes of anticancer drugs, Taxols (Paclitaxel and Docetaxel) and Camptothecin for Chemotherapy.
Arkesh Mehta, the current CEO of Avanti Therapeutics will serve as the Chairman of the Board. Dr. Mehta’s background is in early-stage biotechnology companies, both as a scientist and a business development executive. He has also held management positions at BIO, AT-GC BioPharm, CBTEK and LGA Inc. Working with angel investors and venture capital groups, the company intends to recruit top management and scientific staff to maximize investor returns.
Baltimore-based Avanti Therapeutics said in the announcement that Chikujee Therapeutics is the third member of its portfolio of early-stage biotech companies. Their first company, AT-GC BioPharm was acquired by a group of Investors led by Cosmographics Pvt. Ltd. in July 2006.
About Avanti Therapeutics:
Avanti Therapeutics is an “institutional entrepreneur” that leverages the experience and systematic approach of an institution to actively create and build companies out of innovative science. We look for smart people doing excellent applied science (often from disparate and non-traditional places), build market-based business models around them, and organize companies capable of executing these models to exploit high-growth opportunities. As such, AT-GC portfolio companies have something on day-one that very few start-ups are able to attract: a seasoned management team and focused business strategy. Portfolio companies are, therefore, built in such a way that once AT-GC ceases everyday operational responsibilities, they are capable of competing for institutional capital and continued growth. Efforts are currently focused on the rapidly expanding nanotechnology sector. Currently, AT-GC has two spin-offs commercializing its proprietary nanoBindi based product engines, Avanti NanoSciences-a nano detection technology company and Chikujee Therapeutics, a targeted drug delivery company developing next generation blockbusters through nanomedicine.
CONTACT: Avanti Therapeutics. Attn.: Jenny Smith Tel: +1 (301) 540-5474 ir@at-gc.com, www.at-gc.com
