May 29, 2003
IU, ComChem Enter Agreement To Develop Cancer Therapies
INDIANAPOLIS - Indiana University has issued an exclusive worldwide
license to ComChem Technologies, Inc., an Indianapolis-based drug discovery
and development company, for intellectual property, including more than
25 separate inventions linked to the development of drugs for cancer and
other major diseases.
The intellectual property of the therapeutics is based on the discovery
of a key cell signaling pathway considered to be a master control switch
regulating cell life and cell death. Turning the switch off allows healthy
cells to live; turning the switch on induces a programmed cell death process
called apoptosis (cell suicide). Cell growth left unchecked can lead to
malignant tumors; thwarted cell growth can contribute to cardiovascular
disease, dementias, macular degeneration and a host of other illnesses.
The importance of this biochemical pathway was realized by IU School
of Medicine oncologist Donald L. Durden, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor
of pediatrics and of biochemistry and molecular biology.
"What I discovered was the potential significance of this cell signaling
pathway for cancer and several other disorders," said Dr. Durden.
"Applying ComChem's expertise in developing small-molecule drugs
to target new biological discoveries is how major advances in therapies
are made."
The first patent applications for Dr. Durden's research were filed by
IU's Advanced Research and Technology Institute (ARTI), the university's
technology transfer arm, in 2000. It is the intellectual property protected
by those patents that has been licensed to ComChem for further development.
"This is a very significant agreement and a major win for both IU
and ComChem in our partnership for converting their biological discoveries
into clinical drug candidates," said Joseph Garlich, Ph.D., president
and chief scientist of ComChem. "The license allows ComChem the freedom
to operate and continue development of potential therapies representing
a new class of drugs for treating cancer. The covered intellectual property
also allows ComChem to broaden the scope of our discovery pipeline into
other areas such as diabetes, macular degeneration, cardiovascular disorders
and stem cell proliferation."
Dozens of cell signaling pathways exist and many have resulted in the
development of drugs, already tested in clinical trials with some degree
of success. Dr. Durden, who is a founding member of ComChem's Scientific
Advisory Board, and ComChem are optimistic their research will result
in a more positive outcome. The agreement ComChem now holds is for this
key pathway in all cells, which controls the previously tested pathways.
Early trials in Dr. Durden's laboratory of the first molecule recognized
as being able to modulate the biochemical pathway has been shown to block
angiogenesis (the growth of blood vessels to feed a tumor) and to induce
tumor regression in a very aggressive brain tumor model in mice.
Partial findings from Dr. Durden's research will be published in July
in Cancer Research. ComChem will advance Dr. Durden's early discoveries
in this cell signaling area with two National Cancer Institute Phase I
grants totaling nearly $400,000.
Terms of the exclusive licensing agreement were not disclosed.
For additional information about ComChem, contact Derek A. Small at
317-876-3075, or small@comchemtech.com.
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Media Contact: Mary Hardin
317-274-7722
mhardin@iupui.edu
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