Part of our strategy for success is to form selective and strategic partnerships with pharmaceutical companies to develop and commercialize some of our drug candidates. We aim to structure these partnerships to retain significant co-promotion or co-commercialization rights in certain worldwide markets to capture long-term value from our innovations.
In September 2009, Rexahn closed on licensing and stock purchase agreements with Teva Pharmaceutical Industries for the development of our novel anti-cancer compound, RX-3117. RX-3117 is a small molecule, new chemical entity (NCE), nucleoside compound that has an anti-metabolite mechanism of action, and has therapeutic potential in a broad range of cancers including colon, lung and pancreatic cancer.
To help maintain a vibrant R&D process leading to great biomedical innovations, we actively seek to form scientific collaborations with leading research organizations worldwide.
Our scientific research collaborations feature a joint research collaboration agreement with TheraTarget, Inc., a developer of innovative polymer therapeutics for the treatment of cancer. Through this collaboration, we are strategically expanding our targeted drug delivery product line to create more potent therapies for patients.
We have also formed a licensing partnership with Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (“KRICT”) to develop a synthetic process for Quinoxalines compounds. These compounds provide selective toxicity towards hypoxic cells – cells found in solid tumors that are resistant to anticancer drugs and radiation therapy, making them a potential treatment for solid tumors.
The company continually seeks opportunities to in-license and advance compounds in strategic therapeutic areas that have value creating potential and will strengthen our R&D pipeline. We have licensed the intellectual property of Revaax Pharmaceuticals LLC (“Revaax”) to develop new drugs for treatment of CNS and mood disorders. As a result of this licensing agreement, we have advanced Serdaxin and Zoraxel into Phase II clinical trials for depression and sexual dysfunction.