MPI of Biochemistry, LDC and Qurient Close License Deal on a New Compound against Metastatic Cancers
Submitted by: Lead Discovery Center GmbH
2013-03-13 00:01:56
The Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry (MPIB), the Lead Discovery Center GmbH (LDC) and Qurient Co., Ltd have entered into a license agreement providing Qurient with world-wide
(OPENPRESS) The Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry (MPIB), the Lead Discovery Center GmbH (LDC) and Qurient Co., Ltd have entered into a license agreement providing Qurient with world-wide, exclusive rights to a new kinase inhibitor for the treatment of metastatic cancer.
The lead compound belongs to a family of highly selective Axl kinase inhibitors that was jointly developed by LDC and Max-Planck researchers around Prof. Axel Ullrich at MPIB. Together they have shown that the new Axl kinase inhibitor interferes with key mechanisms of metastasis formation and significantly reduces the number of metastases in-vivo. The project originally emerged from a collaboration of MPIB with Vichem Chemie Research Ltd.
During the coming year, Qurient, LDC and MPIB will work closely together to ensure a smooth transition of the project into preclinical and clinical development at Qurient. The company plans to continue the project at least to clinical proof-of-concept before sublicensing it to a partner for further development and marketing. Under the terms of the agreement, LDC and MPIB will receive an upfront payment as well as milestone and royalty payments, in line with the project's progress.
About Qurient:
Starting operation in 2009, Qurient is a venture capital funded spin-off biotechnology company of Institut Pasteur Korea (IPK) and dedicated to developing novel therapeutics for unmet medical needs. Qurient has in-house expertise in research and development project management and operates in a large part as a development management company using its network of drug development capabilities.
Qurient works from discovery to human proof-of-concept programs, where transformation takes place from a high potential research program into a solid product portfolio. Further information available at: www.qurient.com
About LDC:
The Lead Discovery Center (LDC) was established in 2008 by the technology transfer organization Max Planck Innovation, as a novel approach to capitalize on the potential of excellent basic research for the discovery of new therapies for diseases with high medical need.
With a world-class team of interdisciplinary scientists, drug discovery experts, pharmacologists and seasoned project managers, LDC takes on promising early-stage projects from academia and transforms them into innovative pharmaceutical leads that reach initial proof-of-concept in animals.
LDC sustains a long-term partnership with the Max Planck Society and closely collaborates with leading Max-Planck researchers such as Prof. Axel Ullrich on a portfolio of small molecule drug discovery projects with exceptional medical and commercial potential. Further information available at: www.lead-discovery.de
