Mimotopes Pty Ltd Enters into Drug Development Licensing Agreement with Baker Heart Research Institute

Commonwealth Biotechnologies, Inc. has announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Mimotopes Pty Ltd, has entered into a licensing agreement with the Baker Heart Research Institute (BHRI) of Melbourne, for jointly-developed drug candidates targeting pulmonary arterial hypertension.

As part of the licensing agreement, Mimotopes has assigned the intellectual property for a library of compounds to BHRI in return for a future milestone and/or licensing fees received by BHRI. Mimotopes will also contribute its medicinal chemistry expertise on a fee-for-service basis to assist in the clinical development of these compounds.

“We are excited by the opportunity to apply our knowledge and experience in medicinal chemistry to the Baker Institute’s expertise in cardiovascular medicine,” said Nick Hagan, Mimotopes CEO. “The new compounds developed on Mimotopes’ combinatorial chemistry platform have given very encouraging results in biological studies carried out at the BHRI,” he added.

BHRI Commercialization Manager, Dr. Bev Thomas, said BHRI’s extensive experience in technology transfer would boost the collaboration between the groups and enhance the potential for practical application of treatments developed as a result of the partnership.

“While the initial target therapeutic application is pulmonary arterial hypertension, this agreement could see the application of new therapies to a wide range of cardiovascular diseases,” Dr. Thomas said.

“The research and cardiovascular expertise of BHRI’s Professor David Kaye will bring the clinical perspective and biological research testing capabilities to Mimotopes’ established medicinal chemistry capabilities. We are delighted to be a part of this exciting initiative.”