Cyclogenix, IMBcom, Wyeth Enter Peptide Tech Pact

Cyclogenix has entered into license and research agreements with Wyeth and IMBcom, The University of Queensland’s (UQ) company for commercializing technology from the Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB).
 
Cyclogenix has granted Wyeth exclusive rights to its drug discovery technology platform for generating therapeutic peptides. Wyeth will fund research activities focused on using these technologies and has an option to acquire all rights to these technologies at the end of the research collaboration term, which may last as long as five years.

IMBcom has granted Cyclogenix licences to cyclotide peptide technologies developed by the IMB. Under a research agreement, UQ’s Professor David Craik, an expert in cyclotide scaffolds, will collaborate with Cyclogenix in developing cyclotide based drug candidates. This cyclotide technology platform, developed at the University of Queensland, provides a new way of quickly identifying peptides that bind well to molecular targets.

“We look forward to building a strong and fruitful relationship with Wyeth and in assisting Wyeth with its therapeutic discovery activities,” said Dr. Duncan McGregor, Cyclogenix’s chief executive officer. “We believe that combining the novel properties of the cyclotide scaffold with Cyclogenix’s expertise in display technologies, provides a powerful new approach for the potential discovery of novel peptides for therapeutic applications.”

“Wyeth has a strong discovery base in small molecules, vaccines and biotechnology,” said Mikael Dolsten, M.D., Ph.D., president, Wyeth Research. “This collaboration demonstrates our commitment to partnering with innovators as we explore additional platforms, such as peptide-based therapeutics, that may help to enable us to develop innovative medicines that can help to transform patients’ lives.”

Financial terms of the agreements were not disclosed.