Start-Up Previews

Indel Therapeutics Inc. Also see "Indel Therapeutics Inc." - Scrip, 1 December, 2008. is taking advantage of the differences in highly conserved protein regions to develop anti-infective drugs that won’t succumb to resistance. The company is targeting essential proteins found in bacteria and in humans that are critical to the organism’s survival. This makes the proteins attractive targets for drug developers, but there’s a downside: a drug designed to inhibit proteins highly conserved in humans is likely to be toxic to the patient. Indel thinks it may have found a way around that problem. Its early-stage drug candidates target a number of these vital proteins by focusing insertion or deletion regions away from the protein’s active site. In early studies, the start-up’s therapeutics show promise at inhibiting a wide range of microbes including, bacteria, fungi, and parasites, while having no effect on human cells.

Like numerous other companies working to develop novel anti-bacterial drugs, MicuRx Pharmaceuticals Inc. Also see "MicuRx Pharmaceuticals" -...