The two-year agreement will support intensive laboratory work by a team of research scientists at MD Anderson, who will focus on the novel synthesis and molecular modeling of Degrasyn compounds.
Callisto recently licensed the class of compounds, formerly referred to as tyrphostins, from the MD Anderson Cancer Center.
The novel anticancer activity of Degrasyns relates to their ability to selectively degrade key proteins that are involved in tumor growth and survival.
“Callisto is pleased to be collaborating with MD Anderson scientists, where the Degrasyn class of drugs was initially developed,” said Dr Donald Picker, Callisto’s executive vice president of R&D. “We believe development of Degrasyns could yield important tumor-fighting drugs to treat a variety of cancers.”