Magellan BioScience Licenses Biotechnology Patent from Appalachian State University
Date Posted: 3/11/2005
For further info contact:
Todd R. Daviau, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Magellan BioScience Group, Inc., (727) 865-1300, or info@magellanbioscience.com.
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BOONE, N.C., ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Magellan BioScience Group Inc., a pioneer in innovative drug discovery and development from marine microbial sources, has licensed a patent held by Appalachian State University to develop anti-infective drugs derived from the brittle star, a type of starfish.
The patent, called “Isolation and Screening of Subcuticular Brittlestar Bacteria for Antimicrobial Compounds Production,” was issued to Appalachian in April 2001. Magellan holds an exclusive worldwide license under the patent.
“This patent, along with Magellans current expertise in microbial culture and marine microbiology, gives us important, renewable biological sources for producing and developing novel natural compounds with the potential for therapeutic use,” said Todd R. Daviau, president and CEO of Magellan. “This acquisition strengthens our efforts in the discovery of therapeutics for infectious diseases and provides the basis for expanding our intellectual property and strengthening our competitive position.”
The active compounds in the brittle star were isolated by former faculty members and a graduate student in Appalachian’s Department of Biology. Their early research indicated that strains of the brittle star compound inhibited growth of bacterium responsible for secondary pneumonia, general skin infections, food poisoning, toxic shock syndrome and several other bacteria.
“ This acquisition is an important jump start in filling Magellan’s pipeline with viable candidate molecules since there are very few new drug candidates in the area of anti-infectives,” said Dr. John M. Cronan, vice president and chief scientific officer. “These additional molecular scaffolds should accelerate the construction and add to the diversity of the company’s Marine Natural Product Library, increasing its power for therapeutic discovery,” Cronan added.
Magellan BioScience Group, Inc., based in Saint Petersburg, Fla., is a privately held innovative biotechnology company focused on the discovery of novel classes of therapeutic candidates. Magellan uses its integrated platform technologies to identify new biologically active compounds. The company believes that its library of marine microbes will be the next source of drug discovery for the pharmaceutical industry. Magellan aims to develop and optimize drug candidates to treat cancer, infectious diseases, and inflammation. For additional information, please refer to the company’s web site at www.magellanbioscience.com.
CONTACT: Todd R. Daviau, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Magellan BioScience Group, Inc., (727) 865-1300, or info@magellanbioscience.com.
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