ENKAM Pharmaceuticals A/S (ENKAM), a privately held Danish biopharmaceutical development company focused on cancer and central nervous system disorders, is pleased to announce that it has signed a licensing and development agreement with STEMCELL Technologies Inc (“STEMCELL”), a privately-owned Canadian company, which is a leader in specialty cell culture media, cell separation products and ancillary reagents for life science research. Under the terms of the agreement, ENKAM’s Protein Mimetic Technology Platform (PMTP™) will be used for the rapid creation of active peptides which are able to mimic specific functions of larger proteins. STEMCELL, which delivers more than 900 products to more than 70 countries worldwide, will be responsible for developing and bringing new products to market. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
STEMCELL is committed to supporting stem cell and related areas of life science research worldwide by providing high quality, innovative research tools. STEMCELL’s specialized culture media and cell separation products are available for a wide range of research applications including the Central Nervous System. The addition of ENKAM’s peptides and technology provides an exciting new opportunity for STEMCELL.
In 2009, ENKAM successfully completed the formulation, clinical manufacture and preliminary toxicology testing of a novel peptide, FGLs, allowing both subcutaneous and intranasal administration of this potentially important neuroactive peptide. The FGLs clinical development plan will commence via strategic corporate partnering where advanced discussions are ongoing, a process managed by The Sage Group.
FGLs is a peptide which mimics the neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM), which is known to work by protecting neuronal cells. Its activity re-establishes cognitive function by promoting the connectivity between cells resulting in the formation of new neurons from neural stem cells or neural progenitors. FGLs has been developed for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia, estimated to affect approximately 15 million patients worldwide, including four million in the USA. The number of Alzheimer patients is expected to grow exponentially in the future.
Commenting on the partnership, Morten Albrechtsen MD, Chief Executive and a founder of ENKAM Pharmaceuticals, said: “We are very pleased with the STEMCELL agreement as we believe the combined synergies from both companies will lead to several exciting opportunities within the stem cell arena that will enable novel commercial products to be brought to the market.”
Also commenting on the deal, President and CEO of STEMCELL, Dr. Allen Eaves, said: “The novel mimetic peptides being developed by ENKAM hold great promise to further improve the already outstanding performance of our existing neural tissue culture media products. As well these mimetic peptides may improve other tissue-specific media for the research and regenerative medicine markets for which we are developing additional new products.”
About ENKAM
ENKAM Pharmaceuticals A/S is a biopharmaceutical development company focused on cancer and CNS disorders. ENKAM’s Protein Mimetic Technology Platform (PMTP™) allows the creation of active peptides which mimic specific functions of larger proteins. The Company has several compounds in pre-clinical and clinical development for Alzheimer’s disease and Huntington’s disease as well as for breast and prostate cancer. The Company has a rich inventory of active peptides and the ability to quickly create new peptides which segregate specific activities of multifunctional proteins. The current pipeline of peptide drugs are derived from multifunctional proteins, such as the Neural Cell Adhesion Molecule (NCAM) and the Fibroblast Growth Factors (FGFs).
About STEMCELL Technologies
STEMCELL Technologies Inc is a leader in the development and marketing of specialty cell culture media, cell separation products and ancillary reagents for life science research. Driven by science and enabled by close interactions with global leaders in cell biology and medicine, STEMCELL delivers over 900 products to research scientists in more than 70 countries worldwide. To learn more about how STEMCELL helps to make research work, visit www.stemcell.com
