JERUSALEM--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Yissum, the Technology Transfer Company of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, announces today that its subsidiary Jexys Pharmaceuticals has signed a strategic research and development agreement with Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd. Under the terms of the agreement, Teva will finance Jexys’ R&D program for the development of a high throughput drug discovery platform and in return will receive a minority equity interest in Jexys Pharmaceuticals. Following the completion of the program, Teva will have the option to in-license 5 drug candidates discovered by Jexys, according to Teva’s choice. This agreement is an extension of a collaborative agreement, signed in October 2006 between Jexys and Teva Pharmaceuticals.
Jexys Pharmaceuticals has developed a unique high throughput drug discovery platform in yeast. The company, founded by Prof. David Engelberg from the Department of Biological Chemistry, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, takes advantage of the fact that the cellular biology of yeast is very similar to that of humans. Jexys thus induces in yeast various diseases that afflict humans and uses the “sick” yeast in order to quickly and cost-effectively screen possible drugs.
“The novel drug discovery platform developed by Jexys takes advantage of one of the most accessible and cost-effective biological model systems, namely yeast, in order to quickly and efficiently screen potential drug candidates to treat a host of human diseases,” said Nava Swersky Sofer CEO of Yissum. “We are excited that our subsidiary, Jexys, will collaborate with Teva in further developing its innovative and promising technology. This is an important vote of confidence for Jexys, and further substantiation of the link between the Hebrew University and Teva.”
“Teva has a long history of collaboration with the Hebrew University and Yissum, and we have faith that once more this collaboration will be fruitful for both sides,” said Aharon Schwartz, Ph.D., Vice President, Innovative Ventures at Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd. “Teva is constantly in search of new and promising technologies, and we believe that Jexys’ technology will help us reach our goals faster and with greater efficiency.”
The novel technology is suitable for a wide range of diseases caused by aberrant protein function, such as cancers, inflammations and neurodegenerative diseases. The yeast cells are engineered to express the flawed proteins, which usually inhibit the growth of the yeast cells. Therefore, drugs that restore growth are promising candidates for further, preclinical trials. Since generating the mutated yeast and growing them in large numbers is both quick and economical, Jexys can screen thousands of candidate drugs at a fraction of the time and money needed in more traditional drug development processes.
Using its novel system, Jexys has already isolated novel molecules that could treat inflammatory conditions by inhibiting an enzyme called p38. Jexys’ in-vivo screening system ensures that the newly discovered compounds are not cytotoxic, are capable of crossing the cell’s membrane, and are specific.
About Yissum
Yissum was founded in 1964 to protect the Hebrew University’s intellectual property and commercialize it. $1 Billion in annual sales are generated by products based on Hebrew University technologies licensed out by Yissum. Ranked among the top technology transfer companies in the world, Yissum has registered 5500 patents covering 1600 inventions; licensed out 480 technologies and spun out 65 companies.
Yissum’s business partners span the globe and include companies such as Novartis, Microsoft, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Intel, Teva and many more. For further information please visit www.yissum.co.il.
Contact:
Yissum Ltd. Tsipi Haitovsky, +972-52-598-9892 Media Liaison tsipih@yissum.co.il
Source: Yissum
