NephroGenex Licenses Molecular Profiling Technology and Kinase Inhibitors for Kidney Disease
Cary, NC (PRWEB via PR Web Direct)
May 5, 2005 -- NephroGenex, Inc., a biotechnology company developing treatments
for kidney disease based on molecular profiling, announced today the signing of
two licensing agreements that provide the company with a kidney-specific
molecular profiling technology and inhibitors of a novel kinase therapeutic
target for renal disease.
NephroGenex has acquired exclusive commercial
rights to the glomerular transcriptome profiling technology developed by Drs.
Karl Tryggvason and Christer Betsholtz of the Department of Medical Biochemistry
and Biophysics at the world renowned Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.
This technology utilizes "GlomChip," a DNA chip developed to measure expressed
genes in the glomerulus. The glomerulus is the filtration unit of the kidney and
the micro-organ where the leading renal diseases originate and progress.
Glomchip measures the expression of over 6000 genes, 300 of which are only
expressed in the glomerulus, and not other parts of the kidney. This molecular
profiling technology is being used to identify key renal-specific pathogenic
pathways that emerge in the leading kidney diseases.
Current treatments
for the leading renal diseases target causative systemic pathologies (e.g. blood
pressure, immunological response). These treatments are at best marginally
effective, and do not appreciably delay the progression to end stage renal
disease (ESRD). The prevalence and incidence of ESRD continues to rise.
Targeting renal-specific pathology has shown promise in preclinical studies.
However, the diversity of disease processes that are activated in the kidney due
to diabetes, hypertension, circulating IgA and lupus (i.e. the leading renal
diseases), has hampered drug development efforts.
"This kidney-specific
molecular profiling technology represents a fundamental component of our
approach to characterize the complex pathology of renal disease," indicated Dr.
Wesley Fox, President and CEO of NephroGenex. "This technology will enable
NephroGenex to utilize established clinical candidates that target
renal-specific disease pathology and direct them to patients that are more
likely to respond to the action of the drug."
NephroGenex has also
acquired exclusive commercial rights in the renal disease field to a proprietary
GPBP kinase technology and inhibitors being developed in the laboratory of Dr.
Juan Saus at the Fundacion Valenciana de Investigaciones Biomedicas (Biomedical
Research Foundation), Valencia, Spain. GPBP (Goodpasture antigen binding
protein) kinase is active against extracellular matrix molecules, and appears to
play an important role in their proper organization and function. According to
Dr. Fox, "Elevated expression of GPBP kinase has been shown to accompany
inflammatory and fibrotic disease processes, and GPBP kinase inhibitors
dramatically reduce glomerulosclerosis and lung fibrosis in preclinical
studies."
About NephroGenex, Inc.
NephroGenex is a new biotechnology
company developing treatments for kidney disease utilizing the latest scientific
advancements in molecular profiling. More than 20 million Americans have some
form of chronic kidney disease, and over 400,000 in the US have end stage renal
disease (ESRD), making renal disease one of the costliest illnesses to treat.
Kidney disease is a very complex disease, and although a number of preclinical
drug candidates have been identified in the last decade, few clinical trials
have been initiated.
NephroGenex's kidney-specific, glomerular molecular
profiling technology is establishing molecular profiles or "fingerprints" for
the leading renal diseases. These profiles provide for the identification of
disease pathways that are active in a patient's renal disease. In addition, the
incorporation of molecular profiling into Phase II clinical trials provides for
the determination of profiles and/or biomarkers that identify patients that
respond to the drug candidate under evaluation. These identified profiles and
biomarkers can subsequently be incorporated into pivotal Phase III trials,
increasing the likelihood of demonstrating a statistically significant treatment
effect. Moreover, molecular profiling has the potential to significantly reduce
the size, length and cost of clinical trials.
The founders and
collaborating scientists of NephroGenex are world leading experts on the
molecular basis of kidney disease and the application of genomic and proteomic
molecular profiling to the characterization of glomerular disease processes.
Contact:
J. Wesley Fox, Ph.D.
President and CEO
NephroGenex,
Inc.
(919) 678-9512
www.nephrogenex.com
Email: e-mail protected from spam
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/5/prweb237391.htm