License Agreement to Promote Development of Therapeutic CDK Inhibitors

A license agreement has been signed that was designed to promote the development and commercialization of a series of highly-selective cyclin-dependent kinase 7 (CDK7) inhibitors for the treatment of cancer, inflammation, and viral infections.

Cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) play a pivotal role in cell cycle control and transcription regulation and have long been considered attractive therapeutic targets. However, selective inhibitors have been difficult to develop, as the CDK active sites are highly conserved. Due to their outstanding specificity for CDK7, CDK inhibitors developed at The Lead Discovery Center (Dortmund, Germany) are thought to be good prospects for overcoming this hurdle. These compounds have demonstrated excellent potency and selectivity in vitro and in vivo.

In order to begin the process of commercializing their CDK inhibitors, The Lead Discovery Center has entered into a license agreement with Qurient Company (Gyeonggi, South Korea).

Under the terms of the agreement The Lead Discovery Center will receive an upfront payment and milestone payments upon the achievement of specific development events. Qurient will fund the future development activities of the collaborative program. The partners plan to progress from the validated lead stage into the clinical development phase. Upon successful proof-of-concept in humans, they will jointly identify a suitable partner for follow-on licensing.

“It is an exciting moment for Qurient to have The Lead Discovery Center as an upstream partner, providing innovative drug discovery programs to our "lead-to-clinical POC" pipelines,” said Dr. Kiyean Nam, CEO of Qurient. “We will join forces to achieve exceptional science and operational excellence until the program reaches mutually beneficial end point.”

“The partnership with Qurient is an essential part of our strategy to create versatile opportunities for accelerating the transfer of our leads into biopharmaceutical development,” said Dr. Bert Klebl, CEO of the Lead Discovery Center. “Qurient combines first-class development expertise with an exceptional commitment to moving innovative projects forward. Together, we can advance our projects swiftly into the clinic and benefit from the dynamic financial environment for biotech companies in South Korea.”

The Lead Discovery Center was established in 2008 by the technology transfer organization Max Planck Innovation, as a novel way to capitalize on the potential of basic research for the discovery of new therapies for diseases with high medical need. Qurient began operations in 2009 as a venture capital funded spin-off Biotechnology company of the Institute Pasteur Korea and is dedicated to bridging gaps between innovative sciences and clinical development for unmet medical needs.

Related Links:
The Lead Discovery Center
Qurient Company