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Arrowhead to Form New Nanomedicine Subsidiary and Acquire Nanotherapeutics Company, C Sixty
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Arrowhead Research Corporation has formed a new wholly-owned subsidiary and has agreed to acquire the assets, as well as the name, of C Sixty, Inc. (C-60), a company pioneering the development of new drugs based on buckministerfullerenes (also known as fullerenes or buckyballs).
The new subsidary joins Arrowhead as its third focused on nanomedicine. Arrowhead operates two other majority owned subsidiaries commercializing nanotherapeutics.
Calando Pharmaceuticals is a RNAi company specializing in the design and delivery of siRNA therapeutics.
Insert Therapeutics is commercializing drug-delivery-enhanced small-molecule therapeutics and nucleic acids. Insert's first anti-cancer drug candidate is in Phase I clinical trials.
"The future of medicine lies in targeted delivery of therapeutics through nanotechnology," said R. Bruce Stewart, Arrowhead's Chairman. "Our experience and expertise in this area makes C-60 a great strategic complement to our other majority owned subsidiaries."
Fullerenes are a highly structured, water soluble, nanoscale form of carbon, similar to carbon nanotubes, discovered by Richard Smalley, who received the Nobel Prize for his work in this area. Roughly one nanometer in diameter, the molecules are composed of 60 carbon atoms and have the symmetry of soccer balls.
The spherical shape, hollow interior, and 60 carbon atoms of the molecule allow drug designers the opportunity to attach therapeutic and targeting chemical groups in many configurations.
C Sixty, Inc. has secured and developed a strong patent position covering the strategic biomedical uses of fullerenes. Initially, C-60 will focus on the antioxidant activity of fullerenes.
Arrowhead believes that drugs based on fullerene antioxidant molecules may have significant impact on several unsolved diseases, including Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's, stroke, atherosclerosis, complications from diabetes and protection of bone marrow cells from cancer chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Solutions for any of these diseases could represent billion dollar annual market opportunities.
The new subsidary joins Arrowhead as its third focused on nanomedicine. Arrowhead operates two other majority owned subsidiaries commercializing nanotherapeutics.
Calando Pharmaceuticals is a RNAi company specializing in the design and delivery of siRNA therapeutics.
Insert Therapeutics is commercializing drug-delivery-enhanced small-molecule therapeutics and nucleic acids. Insert's first anti-cancer drug candidate is in Phase I clinical trials.
"The future of medicine lies in targeted delivery of therapeutics through nanotechnology," said R. Bruce Stewart, Arrowhead's Chairman. "Our experience and expertise in this area makes C-60 a great strategic complement to our other majority owned subsidiaries."
Fullerenes are a highly structured, water soluble, nanoscale form of carbon, similar to carbon nanotubes, discovered by Richard Smalley, who received the Nobel Prize for his work in this area. Roughly one nanometer in diameter, the molecules are composed of 60 carbon atoms and have the symmetry of soccer balls.
The spherical shape, hollow interior, and 60 carbon atoms of the molecule allow drug designers the opportunity to attach therapeutic and targeting chemical groups in many configurations.
C Sixty, Inc. has secured and developed a strong patent position covering the strategic biomedical uses of fullerenes. Initially, C-60 will focus on the antioxidant activity of fullerenes.
Arrowhead believes that drugs based on fullerene antioxidant molecules may have significant impact on several unsolved diseases, including Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's, stroke, atherosclerosis, complications from diabetes and protection of bone marrow cells from cancer chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Solutions for any of these diseases could represent billion dollar annual market opportunities.
