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Elixir Secures License From Medical College of Georgia to Intellectual Property Covering the Human Equivalent to the INDY Aging Gene

Posted on: Tuesday, 16 November 2004, 09:00 CST

Elixir Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that it has licensed intellectual property from the Medical College of Georgia relating to work done by Vadivel Ganapathy, Ph.D., and his lab with NaCT-1, a human ortholog of the longevity gene, INDY. In 2002, Elixir secured an exclusive license from the University of Connecticut to intellectual property relating to Dr. Stephen L. Helfand's discovery that down-regulation of the INDY gene doubled the lifespan of fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) and protected them against a wide range of stressors.

Peter DiStefano, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer at Elixir commented, "Our research suggests that aging is a carefully regulated metabolic process. The INDY gene product is an excellent example of an anti-aging target that has been proven to play a role in the cellular regulation of lipid and carbohydrate metabolism. This license extends Elixir's proprietary position in its drug discovery programs aimed at identifying new molecules for the treatment of metabolic diseases."

Dr. Vadivel Ganapathy is chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Regent's Professor in the Departments of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Physiology and Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Medical College of Georgia (MCG). One of Dr. Ganapathy's areas of active research is cell membrane transport proteins and the role they play in the cellular transport and metabolism of nutrients. Dr. Ganapathy and co-researchers at MCG found that the INDY gene codes for a human transporter protein called NaCT-1 which is critical in providing cells with the key ingredients for energy production. Dr. Ganapathy and MCG researchers have identified orthologs of this longevity gene in humans, mice, rats and zebrafish as well as in the nematode worm C. elegans.

"Citrate occupies a central position in various metabolic pathways, especially those involved in energy production, lipid synthesis and cholesterol synthesis. NaCT-1 represents a unique transporter that mediates the cellular uptake of this important metabolite. New drug targets for the prevention or treatment of metabolic diseases are sorely needed and a drug that inhibits NaCT-1 may provide a pharmacological means to reduce fat and cholesterol synthesis and thus enable control of diseases like hyperlipidemia, hypercholesterolemia and obesity," Dr. Ganapathy said. "I am pleased that Elixir has an interest in the NaCT-1 transporter as a drug target for the development of pharmaceuticals to improve human health and prolong youthfulness."

About Elixir

Elixir Pharmaceuticals is focused on discovering and developing new drugs for metabolic disorders based on a unique understanding of the genetics of aging. Elixir scientists have identified many important genes that regulate aging and the proteins encoded by those genes are the targets of the company's drug discovery efforts. More information about Elixir is available at www.elixirpharm.com.

About The Medical College of Georgia

The Medical College of Georgia, the state's premier academic health sciences university, has much to offer the corporate sector. With a rapidly expanding research program (with special emphasis in cardiovascular disease, neurological disease, cancer, infection & inflammation, and diabetes & obesity), it offers numerous opportunities for licensing and for conducting joint research projects. The MCG Office of Technology Transfer & Economic Development, which executed the license with Elixir Pharmaceuticals, is a main point of entry for corporations wishing to work with the medical program based in Augusta.

Source: Business Wire

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