HOUSTON, March 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- FGH Biotech (FGH), a discovery stage biotechnology company, announces that it has entered into a license agreement with Kyoto University (KU) and Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (TUAT). The agreement provides FGH an exclusive worldwide license to patents and technology for the development and commercialization of Vitamin D and its derivatives for therapeutic and nutritional use. Financial details of the license agreement were not disclosed.
FGH is the global leader in small molecules targeting transcription factors that serve as the master regulatory switch for fat production, known as sterol regulatory element-binding proteins (SREBP). FGH's patented drug candidates, called "Fatostatins", directly target this pathway. Research conducted at KU by FGH co-founder Dr. Motonari Uesugi, Deputy Director of the University's Institute for integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS) and Dr. Kazuo Nagasawa at TUAT's Faculty of Engineering, has demonstrated a novel mechanism of action by which Vitamin D and specific analogs can regulate SREBP pathways as recently published in the February 16, 2017 issue of Cell Chemical Biology. Growing evidence has supported an association of Vitamin D levels and metabolic disease, including fatty liver. Importantly, this publication now reveals the molecular mechanism demonstrating how vitamin D influences fat and energy metabolism.
"This agreement with KU and TUAT solidifies our dominant position in SREBP regulation, and enables the development and commercialization of natural and synthetic vitamin D analogs for the treatment of widespread human diseases related to obesity and cancer," said Dr. Salih Wakil, Chairman of FGH. "With our partners, we are designing and testing naturally occurring and synthetic variants of these molecules for disease modifying activity."
FGH core technology was discovered by Dr. Salih Wakil and Dr. Lutfi Abu-Elheiga at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) in Houston, Texas together with Dr. Uesugi of KU, and licensed to FGH. The agreement enables FGH to benefit from ongoing work with these leading Japanese academic institutions, and KU and TUAT will benefit from FGH's aggressive commercialization strategies.
FGH Biotech is committed to developing molecules that control SREBP transcription factors and related pathways for the prevention and treatment of metabolic diseases. FGH's mission is driven by over 60 years of ground-breaking discoveries in fat and energy metabolism by its company's founders.
Kyoto University is one of Japan and Asia's premier research institutions, founded in 1897 and responsible for producing numerous Nobel laureates and winners of other prestigious international prizes. Website: www.kyoto-u.ac.jp/en.
Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology is a renowned public university in Tokyo, Japan. This university focuses on the study of agriculture and engineering. Website: old-www.tuat.ac.jp/en/
For additional information, please contact: Joe Wakil of FGH Biotech at: [email protected] Website: www.fghbiotech.com
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FGH is the global leader in small molecules targeting transcription factors that serve as the master regulatory switch for fat production, known as sterol regulatory element-binding proteins (SREBP). FGH's patented drug candidates, called "Fatostatins", directly target this pathway. Research conducted at KU by FGH co-founder Dr. Motonari Uesugi, Deputy Director of the University's Institute for integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS) and Dr. Kazuo Nagasawa at TUAT's Faculty of Engineering, has demonstrated a novel mechanism of action by which Vitamin D and specific analogs can regulate SREBP pathways as recently published in the February 16, 2017 issue of Cell Chemical Biology. Growing evidence has supported an association of Vitamin D levels and metabolic disease, including fatty liver. Importantly, this publication now reveals the molecular mechanism demonstrating how vitamin D influences fat and energy metabolism.
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"This agreement with KU and TUAT solidifies our dominant position in SREBP regulation, and enables the development and commercialization of natural and synthetic vitamin D analogs for the treatment of widespread human diseases related to obesity and cancer," said Dr. Salih Wakil, Chairman of FGH. "With our partners, we are designing and testing naturally occurring and synthetic variants of these molecules for disease modifying activity."
FGH core technology was discovered by Dr. Salih Wakil and Dr. Lutfi Abu-Elheiga at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) in Houston, Texas together with Dr. Uesugi of KU, and licensed to FGH. The agreement enables FGH to benefit from ongoing work with these leading Japanese academic institutions, and KU and TUAT will benefit from FGH's aggressive commercialization strategies.
FGH Biotech is committed to developing molecules that control SREBP transcription factors and related pathways for the prevention and treatment of metabolic diseases. FGH's mission is driven by over 60 years of ground-breaking discoveries in fat and energy metabolism by its company's founders.
Kyoto University is one of Japan and Asia's premier research institutions, founded in 1897 and responsible for producing numerous Nobel laureates and winners of other prestigious international prizes. Website: www.kyoto-u.ac.jp/en.
Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology is a renowned public university in Tokyo, Japan. This university focuses on the study of agriculture and engineering. Website: old-www.tuat.ac.jp/en/
For additional information, please contact: Joe Wakil of FGH Biotech at: [email protected] Website: www.fghbiotech.com
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SOURCE FGH Biotech
