Elixir Pharmaceuticals Secures License Agreement With UCSF For Breakthrough Discoveries in Aging Research.Business Editors & Health/Medical Writers BIOWIRE2K CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 27, 2003 Elixir Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that it has finalized a license agreement with the University of California The University of California has a combined student body of more than 191,000 students, over 1,340,000 living alumni, and a combined systemwide and campus endowment of just over $7.3 billion (8th largest in the United States). San Francisco. The agreement provides Elixir with access to groundbreaking discoveries in age-related genetics research made by the Company's founder, Cynthia Kenyon Ph.D., the Herbert Boyer Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics biophysics, application of various methods and principles of physical science to the study of biological problems. In physiological biophysics physical mechanisms have been used to explain such biological processes as the transmission of nerve impulses, the muscle at UCSF UCSF University of California at San Francisco , including the lifespan extension discoveries around the DAF-2/insulin/IGF-1 signaling pathway in nematode nematode or roundworm Any of more than 15,000 named and many more unnamed species of worms in the class Nematoda (phylum Aschelminthes). Nematodes include plant and animal parasites and free-living forms found in soil, freshwater, saltwater, and even vinegar worms. "Our ability to license the key discoveries in the field of aging research from leading institutions like UCSF is a key component of Elixir's strategy for building our portfolio of pharmaceutical discovery programs," stated Alan Watson, Chief Business Officer of Elixir. "The groundwork laid by Dr. Kenyon's research has enabled us to rapidly identify eight drugable targets along the DAF-2 pathway that regulate key elements of the aging process and the onset of age-related diseases. As we begin to develop small molecule candidates for these targets, this license agreement supports the protection and patentability of future discoveries and advancements that Elixir will make in this program." Under the terms of the license agreement between Elixir and UCSF, Elixir obtains access to novel biological reagents created in the Kenyon laboratory as well as current and, for a period of two years, a limited option to future related intellectual property that is dominated by the licensed patent rights. Financial terms were not disclosed. Dr. Cynthia Kenyon was among the first to apply modern molecular genetics to the study of aging. Dr. Kenyon found that a single nucleotide change in the DAF-2 gene can more than double the life span of the nematode worm, C. elegans, prolonging its normal 18-28 day lifespan up to 70 days or more. The protein encoded by daf-2 is the nematode counterpart (or homolog hom·o·log n. Variant of homologue. ) of the human insulin/insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor. By developing drugs that affect targets along the DAF-2 pathway, Elixir hopes to not only extend the period of youthful, productive life in humans, but also to prevent or delay the onset of age-related diseases like cancer and diabetes. Elixir's portfolio of age-related targets also includes exclusive licenses from the University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut is the State of Connecticut's land-grant university. It was founded in 1881 and serves more than 27,000 students on its six campuses, including more than 9,000 graduate students in multiple programs. UConn's main campus is in Storrs, Connecticut. (UCONN) and from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Massachusetts Institute of Technology, at Cambridge; coeducational; chartered 1861, opened 1865 in Boston, moved 1916. It has long been recognized as an outstanding technological institute and its Sloan School of Management has notable programs in business, (MIT MIT - Massachusetts Institute of Technology ) for longevity discoveries in fruit flies and yeast related to the INDY See Indigo. (I'm Not Dead Yet) and SIR-2 (Silent Information Regulation) genes respectively. About Elixir Elixir Pharmaceuticals is a genomics-based drug discovery company developing products that slow aging and forestall age-related diseases. The Company's technology is based on recently discovered longevity genes that, when altered, slow aging and extend the life span in laboratory organisms. These genes and the pathways in which they act are conserved in humans. Elixir's mission is to replicate these genetic results with pharmaceuticals that slow aging, reduce the disease and disability that accompany aging and extend youthfulness in humans. |
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