The agreement provides Prolexys with exclusive, worldwide rights to a patent estate covering selective anti-tumor compounds discovered by Dr Brent Stockwell, a former Whitehead fellow and now an assistant professor of Biological Sciences and Chemistry at Columbia University.
Additional intellectual property was developed by Stockwell and scientists at Prolexys as part of a joint research collaboration initiated in December 2003.
The licensed compound series are small molecules with unique cancer specific cytotoxic properties that act via a novel mechanism discovered at Prolexys using its chemiproteomics technology.
“The critical groundwork laid by Dr Stockwell has enabled a very productive and successful collaboration between our two groups,” said Dr Sudhir Sahasrabudhe, chief scientific officer of Prolexys Pharmaceuticals. “Working together, we rapidly characterized the compound’s novel mechanism for producing cancer specific cytotoxicity and are excited about the development path forward toward the clinic.”