Accelera Diagnostics, a new startup, will commercialise up to 21 pharmaceuticals licensed to Sunbelt.
New Mexico University’s Centre for Molecular Discovery and Nevada-based venture firm Sunbelt Technologies have signed an agreement that gives Sunbelt the option to license 21 potential pharmaceuticals. The commercialisation pipeline is to be managed by newly formed Accelera Diagnostics.
The potential new therapies could cover a wide range of diseases, from ovarian and breast cancer to leukaemia and stroke. Sunbelt is currently hiring a team of medical researchers and marketing experts to screen the research and pass the most promising candidates on to Accelera, which will initially invest $1m. The candidates include both new drugs and repurposed drugs.
The Centre for Molecular Discovery’s equipment allows medical professionals to analyse drug interaction with tissue samples. This has already allowed researchers to test new uses for thousands of drugs currently on the market and determine if they can be used to fight other illnesses. The centre is funded by the US National Institutes of Health.
Dr Richard Larson, executive vice-chancellor of the university’s Health Sciences Centre, said: “The centre has gathered vast libraries of drug compounds whose original patents have expired. Research on those compounds has allowed us to identify drugs that can be repurposed for use against many diseases, including leukaemia, solid tumours such as ovarian and breast cancer, infectious diseases, and disorders in the neurological system such as stroke.”
