MENLO PARK, Calif. and PALO ALTO, Calif., Feb. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- SRI International, an independent nonprofit research and development organization, and Telik, Inc. today announced that they have signed an exclusive license agreement under which SRI will conduct preclinical studies of a Telik drug candidate for the treatment of multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.
The licensing agreement involves the study of C243, a compound that prevents leukocyte infiltration. Leukocytes are white blood cells that help defend the body against infection. Leukocyte infiltration is strongly linked to tissue injury in chronic autoimmune and inflammatory diseases such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and atherosclerosis.
Under the terms of the agreement, SRI will fund and conduct preclinical and toxicology studies directed at supporting an Investigational New Drug (IND) application filing for C243 with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, as well as develop GMP-compliant sources for C243 manufacturing. Telik will have the option to re-acquire C243 rights in the future. In North and South America, Telik has exclusive commercialization rights to C243. Sanwa Kagaku Kenkyusho, Co., Ltd. and Telik share commercialization rights to the compound in Europe, and Sanwa has exclusive commercialization rights in Asia. The license agreement covers territories where Telik has exclusive rights.
“SRI has a decades long history of drug discovery and development for cancer and infectious disease. The addition of C243 to our portfolio of CNS therapeutics is a tremendous opportunity to develop a drug to help people afflicted with inflammatory and autoimmune disease,” said Edward Spack, Ph.D., senior director of business development, SRI Biosciences Division.
“SRI’s exceptional track record in drug development makes them an appropriate organization to partner with and determine the efficacy of this promising drug candidate, which was discovered through our proprietary TRAP small molecule drug discovery technology,” said Marc L. Steuer, senior vice president of business development at Telik.
About Telik
Telik, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to discovering, developing and commercializing novel small molecule drugs to treat cancer and other serious diseases. Our most advanced development candidate is TELCYTA(TM) (TLK286), a novel cancer cell-activated chemotherapeutic. A second development candidate, TELINTRA(TM) (TLK199), is in clinical development in myelodysplastic syndrome, and may also have utility in the treatment of additional blood disorders. These product candidates, and the other candidates in our pipeline, were discovered using our proprietary technology, TRAP(TM), which enables the rapid and efficient discovery of small molecule drug candidates.
This press release contains “forward-looking” statements, including statements regarding the potential for C243 to treat chronic inflammatory conditions. There are important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements, including, among others, that none of Telik’s product candidates including C243 have been determined to be safe or effective in humans or been approved for marketing, and preclinical and clinical trials of Telik’s product candidates may take several years to complete and may not be successful. Detailed information regarding factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from the results expressed or implied by statements in this press release may be found in Telik’s periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the factors described in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in its quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2006. Telik does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements contained in this press release. TELIK and the Telik logo, TELCYTA, TELINTRA, and TRAP are trademarks or registered trademarks of Telik, Inc.
About SRI’s Biosciences Division
SRI International’s Biosciences Division is a unique organization of approximately 200 people, with all of the resources necessary to take biological and chemical research programs from “idea to IND"(TM) -- from initial discovery to investigational new drug applications to start human clinical trials. The Biosciences Division performs basic research on disease mechanisms like an academic institution; drug discovery and the development of biologics like a biotechnology or pharmaceutical company; and full-service preclinical and pharmaceutical services like a CRO (contract research organization).
To date, SRI has developed nine drugs internally that have entered clinical trials, with several more currently undergoing preclinical evaluation. Marketed examples of these drugs include bexarotene and halofantrine. Additionally, working with government and industry partners, SRI has helped advance more than 100 drugs into clinical trials, and more than 30 drugs onto the market. Through collaborations with other divisions at SRI, Biosciences is also working at the interfaces of science to create technical platforms for the next generation of drug discovery and development in areas such as drug delivery, diagnostics and systems biology.
About SRI International
Silicon Valley-based SRI International (http://www.sri.com) is one of the world’s leading independent research and technology development organizations. Founded as Stanford Research Institute in 1946, SRI has been meeting the strategic needs of clients for 60 years. The nonprofit research institute performs client-sponsored research and development for government agencies, commercial businesses, and private foundations. In addition to conducting contract R&D, SRI licenses its technologies, forms strategic partnerships, and creates spin-off companies.
Telik, Inc.
CONTACT: Ellie Javadi, +1-650-859-4874, ellie.javadi@sri.com, or DinaBasin, +1-650-859-3845, dina.basin@sri.com, both of SRI International; orCarol DeGuzman of Telik, Inc., +1-650-845-7728, cdeguzman@telik.com
