Unidym,
Inc., a majority-owned subsidiary of Arrowhead Research
Corporation (NASDAQ:ARWR), announced today the formation of a spin-off
company, Ensysce Biosciences Inc., that will focus on research into the
medical therapeutic applications of carbon nanotubes. Unidym has
licensed its extensive nanotechnology patent portfolio to Ensysce for
this field of use and in return holds a significant equity position in
Ensysce. The inception of Ensysce stems from the final research
interests of the late Dr. Richard Smalley, the 1996 Nobel Laureate for
Chemistry from Rice University, who was among the pioneers in
considering the potential therapeutic applications for carbon
nanotubes. Unidym acquired rights to Dr. Smalley’s work in
carbon nanotechnology through a corporate merger in April of last year.
“Unidym’s carbon nanotubes have been
widely used in a variety of very promising medical therapeutic
research,” noted Art Swift, Unidym’s president and
CEO. “Given the broad applicability of our IP portfolio, it
was a natural move to create this spin-off company to, over time,
return previously untapped value to Unidym’s shareholders by
focusing on the application of our intellectual property in medical
therapeutics for the systemic treatment of disease, an area that is
outside Unidym’s core business focus on electronics
applications for carbon nanotechnology.”
Ensysce will immediately begin working with several of the
world’s leading chemists and clinicians in the field
developing carbon nanotube based therapeutics. One of its first moves
is to fund the existing studies using carbon nanotubes for delivery of
short interfering RNA (siRNA) using animal models, led by Dr. Bruce
Weisman at Rice University and Dr. Garth Powis at the University of
Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.
“We have a strong group between our two
organizations working in the area of siRNA and are looking forward to
working closely with Ensysce,” said Dr. Bruce Weisman of Rice
University. “In addition to funding our research, Ensysce
will provide a clear path to market for our work.”
In parallel, Ensysce will immediately fund the research at
Stanford University being led by Dr. Hongjie Dai and focused on the
delivery of chemotherapy drugs such as taxol and doxorubicin using
carbon nanotubes.
“We have made significant progress in delivering
chemotherapy drugs into tumor cells and have reached the point where we
hope to work with a commercial entity to take our work to the next
level,” said Dr. Hongjie Dai of Stanford University.
“Ensysce’s participation in our work could help us
progress to animal trials for a solution to substantially increase the
efficacy of chemotherapy drugs, while reducing toxicity outside of
tumor cells.”
Ensysce is also looking at novel ways of using carbon
nanotubes to directly treat tumor cells. As a part that research
funding program, Ensysce will also fund a team led by Dr. Lon Wilson of
Rice University and Dr. Steven Curley of the M. D. Anderson Cancer
Center. This team is preparing to move into human trials a cancer
therapy that uses carbon nanotubes exposed during treatment to RF
radiation.
Terms of the licensing arrangement between Unidym and Ensysce
were not announced, but include up-front licensing fees, ongoing
royalties, and a significant equity position for Unidym in Ensysce
Biosciences. In addition, Unidym will provide contract services to
Ensysce, including supplies of research grade nanotubes, back-office
and accounting support. Initial operating costs of the new venture,
including the funded research at Rice, M.D. Anderson and Stanford, are
funded by an angel investor interested in the therapeutic applications
of carbon nanotubes. Ensysce expects to put an experienced biotech
management team in place after it generates initial animal data from
its funded research.