UC Riverside Licenses Antibodies to Releviate Therapeutics For Use In Potential Alternative Chronic Pain Therapies

judysw — Fri, 29 Jan 2021 17:01:14 +0000

UC Riverside Licenses Antibodies to Releviate Therapeutics For Use In Potential Alternative Chronic Pain Therapies judysw Fri, 01/29/2021 - 09:01 More Press Releases November 01, 2020

Antibodies developed at the University of California, Riverside (UCR), and licensed to Releviate Therapeutics may contribute to a significant advancement in the treatment of chronic pain as an alternative to opioids.

Every year, more than 50 million adults in the United States suffer from chronic pain, a serious condition that negatively affects quality of life. Today, opioids are a commonly prescribed medication to treat chronic pain. However, they have negative side effects, including addiction, overdose, and death. An alternative to opioids is desirable to treat chronic pain and would contribute to ending the opioid crisis.

Professor Xin Ge

Professor Xin Ge of the department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering at UCR’s Marlan and Rosemary Bourns College of Engineering identified a novel antibody approach to treat chronic pain. Supported by U.S. National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation, in addition to proof-of-concept funding from UCR’s Office of Technology Partnerships, Professor Ge developed MMP-9 and MMP-14 antibodies, which can be used as an effective non-addicting pain therapy. In collaboration with Professor Ru-Rong Ji from Duke University, Professors Ge and Ji showed that MMP-9 antibodies significantly relieved neuropathic pain development in mice.

This research caught the attention of an entrepreneur from San Diego, California who formed the biotech startup Releviate Therapeutics to commercialize the technology. UCR and Releviate signed an exclusive license that allows Releviate to further develop the MMP-9 and MMP-14 antibodies to treat chronic pain in patients. “These antibodies are highly selective for MMP-9 and MMP-14 respectively, unlike previous peptide and small molecule based inhibitors. Such high selectivity is the key to breakthroughs in MMP therapies given that all past MMP targeting therapies have failed in clinic trials due to unwanted toxic off-target effects,” Professor Ge commended.

“UCR’s research is contributing to solve important problems in society, the MMP-9 and MMP-14 monoclonal antibodies are examples of the groundbreaking research of our university. We are enthusiastic about the commercialization opportunities of these technologies for public benefit,” said Brian Suh, Director of Technology Commercialization at the University of California, Riverside.

For more details on this announcement refer to Releviate’s press release.

Learn more about Professor Ge’s Research Lab, UCR’s Office of Technology Partnerships and other technologies available for licensing.

UC Riverside Licenses Proteasome and Immunoproteasome Inhibitors to Lodo Therapeutics Corp.

judysw — Tue, 26 Jan 2021 22:39:24 +0000

UC Riverside Licenses Proteasome and Immunoproteasome Inhibitors to Lodo Therapeutics Corp. judysw Tue, 01/26/2021 - 14:39 More Press Releases September 01, 2020

The Office of Technology Partnerships (OTP) facilitates the development and commercialization of ideas emanating from The University of California Riverside (UCR) and the community for the benefit of society. The licensing of proteasome and immunoproteasome inhibitors to Lodo Therapeutics is an example of UCR OTP’s success as a bridge between academia and industry.

On September 1, 2020, Lodo Therapeutics was granted an exclusive license to proteasome and immunoproteasome inhibitors discovered by UCR professor Michael Pirrung and Michigan State University professor André Bachmann. Dr. Pirrung is a distinguished organic chemist who currently holds 41 U.S patents and is a member of the prestigious National Academy of Inventors. Dr. Pirrung is an inventor of TIR-199, one of the licensed proteasome inhibitors. In 2013 and 2018, OTP provided over $40,000 in total proof-of-concept funding to Dr. Pirrung to help translate and commercialize his proteasome inhibitors.

Early preclinical studies suggest that TIR-199 may have efficacy in treating solid tumors. TIR-199 is structurally distinct from marketed proteasome inhibitors and is highly selective for its target. The early data also suggest that it may be less susceptible to development of clinical resistance than current standard-of-care proteasome inhibitors. These data help support Lodo’s plans to develop TIR-199 as a potential treatment for solid tumors. Proteasome inhibitors kill cancer cells by blocking the ability of the proteasome to perform its usual housekeeping function of removing unwanted peptides that accumulate as excessive build-up of waste inside the cancer cells, thereby causing them to eventually die. UCR OTP is proud to have licensed this technology to Lodo Therapeutics and looks forward to the future applications of this technology for human health.

To learn more about Lodo Therapeutics visit http://www.lodotherapeutics.com