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Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Epix takes in $500K more for cystic fibrosis research

By Mass High Tech staff

Lexington-based biopharmaceutical Epix Pharmaceuticals Inc. says it has achieved a further $500,000 milestone from its collaboration with Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics Inc., the nonprofit affiliate of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

According to company officials, Epix (Nasdaq: EPIX) has now earned a total of $5 million under the collaboration, which is aimed at discovering potential drug therapies targeting the Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane conductance Regulator (CFTR) ion channel.

Epix is using its proprietary in silico high throughput screening to find ways for small molecule drugs to interact with the regulator to correct defects caused by the most common mutation of the key protein associated with cystic fibrosis.

If any compounds come out of the collaboration, Epix will own all worldwide rights to it, according to the terms of the deal.

Last week, Epix made Elkan Gamzu its permanent CEO and president. Since last July, Gamzu had been serving as interim CEO at the biopharmaceutical firm. He took over from Michael Kauffman, who resigned from his posts as CEO and board member last summer. Prior to that appointment, Gamzu was a director at the firm.

Epix concentrates on creating new drugs based on its proprietary and in silico drug discovery platform. The company’s pipeline includes drugs to treat diseases of the nervous system and lung conditions. The firm also has collaborations with the companies GlaxoSmithKline PLC and Amgen Inc. The company reported a loss of $62.8 million for fiscal 2007 on revenue of $15 million.

 

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