CrystalGenomics set to license lead project as research partnerships grow
CrystalGenomics is hoping to strike a licensing agreement this year for its lead in-house development project, a next-generation COX-2 inhibitor.
The South Korean drug discovery company's alliances have so far focused on basic research, rather than product collaborations with partners, including most recently AstraZeneca. "We are aiming to do a deal for the compound [CG100649] sometime this year, and have already held discussions with big pharma," president and CEO Dr Cho Joong Myung revealed in an interview with Scrip.
The hope is for a worldwide agreement, although CrystalGenomics is intending to retain rights in its home market and China as a way of building up its commercial operations.
Click here to read the full story.
Natural toxin just the tonic for CK Life Sciences
Gourmets in Japan may be more accustomed to eating at least the safer parts of it, but the humble puffer fish has also given CK Life Sciences (CKLS) the potent neurotoxin upon which its lead drug development project is based.
The Hong Kong venture is conducting a Phase III trial with tetrodotoxin, which is concentrated in certain organs of the fish and also found in other marine animals, for the management of cancer pain. Other potential therapeutic indications include neuropathic pain, according to Dr Melvin Toh, the firm's vice-president for pharmaceutical development.
Click here to read the full story.
Rexbio sets sights on novel approach to pancreatic cancer
The South Korean bioventure Rexbio is looking to develop a novel approach to the treatment and diagnosis of one of the most deadly forms of cancer by targeting a gene found to be closely linked to the malignancy.
The small, privately held company is focusing on pancreatic adenocarcinoma up-regulated factor (PAUF), a gene over-expressed in the disease which studies suggest is associated with various processes including the migration of malignant cells and metastasis.
"No other companies appear to be working in the PAUF area. Our intellectual property is already very wide and we are expecting more patents to be granted this year," Rexbio CEO James Jungkue Lee told Scrip in an interview.
Click here to read the full story.
