EMERYVILLE, Calif., May 10 /PRNewswire/ -- KineMed, Inc., a pathway-based drug discovery and development company, announced today the Company has received an option to exclusively license from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.) intellectual property related to scavenger receptor-class B type I (SR-B1). Under the agreement, KineMed has the option to exclusive rights to issued patents that cover SR-B1 as a therapeutic target for the treatment of atherosclerotic heart disease. KineMed has further acquired an option for non-exclusive rights to methods of screening for drugs that modulate SR-B1 expression and activity, and genetic models of SR-B1 modulation.
Marc K. Hellerstein, M.D., Ph.D., KineMed Co-Founder and Chairman of the Company's Scientific Advisory Board, stated, "SR-B1 is a highly promising target that has been shown in transgenic models to play an important role in preventing atherosclerosis. Clinical investigations have also demonstrated a role of the human homologue of SR-B1, CLA-1, in developing atherosclerosis. I believe that the acquisition of exclusive rights to patents covering the development of drugs that modulate SR-B1 would position KineMed as a leader in the field of HDL and anti-atherosclerosis therapy."
SR-B1 was first identified by Monty Krieger, a professor in M.I.T.'s Department of Biology, as a hepatic HDL receptor more than 10 years ago. SR- B1 has been well characterized at the molecular level and has been shown to facilitate binding of high density lipoprotein (HDL) to liver cells by catalyzing the net transfer of cholesterol-esters to the liver. Delivery of cholesterol from blood to the liver is a critical component in the HDL- dependent pathway of reverse cholesterol transport (RCT). RCT is the only known mechanism by which excess cholesterol is removed from tissues and has therefore received considerable attention as a therapeutic target for prevention and reversal of atherosclerosis.
RCT is one of the key disease pathways for which KineMed has a unique kinetic biomarker, as well as proprietary rights to its modulation for therapeutic purposes. The biomarker assay of RCT is currently being used by KineMed and its Pharma partners in preclinical models (for validating target activity, selecting among leads, and optimizing treatment regimes) and in clinical trials (for rapid testing of therapeutic proof-of-concept in Phase I/II studies and for guidance of large clinical trials).
The option agreement provides KineMed the opportunity to combine its unique ability to assess RCT in vivo for anti-atherosclerotic drug development with exclusive rights to the patents covering SR-B1 as a target for atherosclerotic drug discovery. Under the option agreement, KineMed will have access to proprietary methods for screening compounds that modulate SR-B1 expression and activity, exclusive rights to patents covering modulation of SR-B1 as a therapeutic target in atherosclerosis and the right to assess two proprietary transgenic mouse models which, through the knockout of SR-B1, develop coronary artery disease rapidly. Combined with KineMed's unique ability to determine RCT pathway flux in both preclinical and clinical studies, this acquisition will give KineMed the vertically integrated capacity to discover and rapidly advance novel agents for the treatment of atherosclerosis.
Recent highly publicized clinical failures in the HDL/atherosclerosis field have left a therapeutic void and highlight the enormous potential value of SR-B1 as a target for anti-atherosclerosis therapy. During the option period, KineMed will use its proprietary expertise to further validate SR-B1 as a drug target, assess the impact of SR-B1 modulation on RCT in vivo, and discover and test agents that modulate SR-B1 activity as therapeutic candidates for reversal and treatment of atherosclerosis.
About KineMed, Inc.
KineMed, Inc. ("KineMed" or the "Company") is a drug discovery and development company employing its proprietary translational medicine technology (AquaTag(TM) and KineMarker(TM)) to both identify active drug candidates preclinically and confirm their therapeutic activity and dose response in first-in-man studies. KineMed's technology expedites the drug development process and provides real-time insight into conditions including metabolic disorders, cancer, and diseases of inflammation and neurodegeneration.
KineMed is working to develop drugs both on its own and with pharmaceutical collaborators in therapeutic focus areas where it can demonstrate functional modulation of specific biological pathways that mediate disease. The Company has multiple development programs with more than a dozen major pharmaceutical companies, including Bayer, Merck, Merck KGaA, Organon and Roche.
For further information about KineMed, please visit: http://www.kinemed.com/
CONTACT: Brent Vaughan, Chief Business Officer of KineMed, Inc., +1-510-655-6525, ext. 110; or Media: Justin Jackson of Burns McClellan, +1-212-213-0006, jjackson@burnsmc.com, for KineMed, Inc.
KineMed, Inc.CONTACT: Brent Vaughan, Chief Business Officer of KineMed, Inc.,+1-510-655-6525, ext. 110; or Media: Justin Jackson of Burns McClellan,+1-212-213-0006, jjackson@burnsmc.com, for KineMed, Inc.
Web site: http://www.kinemed.com//
