Upstream Biosciences Acquires Innovative Platform Technology and Drug Candidates for Tropical Parasiti...(he rapid identification of drugs that ca...),Health

"This technology is particularly applicable to these difficult-to-treat protozoan diseases because it does not require knowing the disease target a priori," noted Professor Cherkasov. "By combining state-of-the-art computational approaches with advanced chemistries, we have already demonstrated that we can successfully produce novel compounds with good drug- like properties and the potential for enhanced efficacy and reduced toxicity. I look forward to working with Upstream to advance these promising new drugs into clinical development, as well as to exploring other drug discovery applications of the technology platform."

Professor Cherkasov is an expert in computer-aided drug design, in applications of artificial intelligence to structure-activity modeling for bioactive substances and in the development of large-scale bioinformatics and genomics tools and molecular modeling techniques. He is a member of Upstream's Scientific Advisory Board.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), over 300 million people are infected globally by these parasitic diseases, which are responsible for an estimated 2.8 million deaths annually and cause great suffering and economic hardship to millions more. In addition, the combination of global warming and increased migration is beginning to bring these diseases to the developed world. For example, the American Red Cross recently reported that in 2006 it detected blood-borne Chagas pathogens in 1 in every 3,800 blood donors in Los Angeles.

Terms of the acquisition include upfront and milestone payments. Further details were not disclosed.

About Leishmaniasis. Leishmaniasis is a severe, geographically widespread parasitic disease caused by a protozoan flagellate and spread by the bite of infected sand flies. There are several different forms of leishmaniasis--- cu
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