Plexxikon wins key patents for new drug compounds

Plexxikon, a developer of small molecule pharmaceuticals, has received key composition-of-matter patents covering novel compounds discovered through the company’s Scaffold-based Drug Discovery platform.

Two of the three recently issued patents cover compounds derived from the company’s discovery efforts to target protein kinases for the treatment of multiple indications including oncology and inflammation.

The third patent covers novel compounds from the company’s peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor program yielding novel therapeutic opportunities for metabolic disorders and other diseases.

The company has also promoted Prabha Ibrahim to the position of vice president of chemistry. Prior to Plexxikon, Dr Ibrahim was a senior scientist at CV Therapeutics, where she was responsible for the identification and development of preclinical candidates for cardiovascular indications.

Peter Hirth, CEO of Plexxikon, said: We are pleased to be adding these additional patents to our broad intellectual property portfolio. Plexxikon’s novel approach to drug discovery has enabled the company to advance multiple drug candidates which are covered by strong intellectual property, and as a result, to secure significant pharmaceutical industry interest in our programs.

Plexxikon is pharmaceutical company focused on discovery and development of novel small molecule pharmaceuticals to treat human disease. The company’s clinical stage programs include PLX4032 for the treatment of melanoma and colorectal cancer, PLX5568 for the treatment of PKD and PLX204 for the treatment of diabetes.