Anchor announces rapid progress in OMJPI collaboration for developing GPCR therapeutic compounds

Anchor Therapeutics today announced that it has successfully completed the first stage of its collaboration and license agreement with Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (OMJPI). This achievement represents rapid progress for the collaboration, which was launched in September 2010 to develop G protein coupled receptor (GPCR)-targeted therapeutic compounds utilizing Anchor's proprietary pepducin technology.

“The rapid progress in this collaboration demonstrates Anchor's ability to discover promising new pepducin therapeutic compounds. Our work together with OMJPI has been extremely efficient and cooperative”

Under the agreement, Anchor and OMJPI work jointly to discover and optimize preclinical development candidates against GPCR targets in oncology and metabolic disorders. During this initial research phase, Anchor pepducins were shown to have in vivo efficacy in a relevant model and satisfactorily achieved other criteria necessary to earn further research funding support. These results triggered an undisclosed cash payment to Anchor.

"The rapid progress in this collaboration demonstrates Anchor's ability to discover promising new pepducin therapeutic compounds. Our work together with OMJPI has been extremely efficient and cooperative," said Frederick Jones, M.D., President and CEO of Anchor.