Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Nasdaq: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) has signed a strategic agreement with start-up Jexys Pharmaceuticals Ltd., which has developed a method for drug discoveries based on yeast. Teva will finance Jexys's R&D program until it can commercialize its drug discovery platform in exchange for a minority stake in the company and the right to choose five drug candidates discovered by Jexys for licensing.
The current agreement extends an earlier agreement from late 2006. The companies did not disclose the financial terms of the new agreement, but Teva will likely invest several million dollars in Jexys during the R&D period. Teva will presumably also pay Jexys royalties on any future sales of products based on the company's technology.
Jexys was founded through Yissum Technology Transfer Company of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. It was originally based at the Docor Shalem Entrepreneurship Center incubator at Har Hotzvim in Jerusalem (now Van Leer Ventures Jerusalem), and has raised $700,000 to date.
Jexys chief scientist Prof. David Engelberg developed the company's technology. He has studied yeasts for decades at the Biological Chemistry Department of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Jexys exploits the fact that the cellular biology of yeast is very similar to that of humans. It induces in yeast various diseases that afflict humans and uses the sick yeast to quickly and cost-effectively screen possible drugs. The method is significantly cheaper than animal testing in laboratories, enabling the testing of many more compounds.
Teva VP strategic business planning and new ventures Aaron Schwartz said, "Teva is constantly in search of new and promising technologies, and we believe that Jexys' technology will help us reach our goals faster and with greater efficiency."
Jexys has already used its platform to isolate molecules that may treat inflammations by inhibiting P38 enzymes. Jexys' in-vivo screening system ensures that the newly discovered compounds are not cytotoxic, can cross the cell membrane, and are specific.
Yeasts made news this week when Merck & Co. (NYSE: MRK) announced that it would use its own yeast-based platform, acquired two years ago, to produce generic biotechnology drugs. These are generic versions of biological drugs that are currently produced in living cells.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 15, 2008
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2008