The Product
ConjuGate's first product, AmphoSol, is a new antifungal drug for systemic delivery, which will be used for the treatment of acute invasive fungal infections in patients with compromised immune systems.
The Need
Fungal infections are becoming a serious public-health hazard, particularly due to the increasing incidence of life-threatening fungal infections in immunocompromised hosts such as cancer patients, patients after transplantation and patients with AIDS.
The current treatment of severe systemic fungal infections is inadequate, due to limited availability of effective parenteral drug formulations and the appearance of new opportunistic fungal infections resistant to the marketed drugs.
The Market:
The total market value of systemic antifungal drugs has been estimated to be $5.7 billion in 2014 (Data monitor may 2004). The estimated market share for ConjuGate's antifungal drug is expected to be as high as $1 billion out of the total systemic antifungal market.
The Technology
The Company has developed a unique platform technology designed to improve the safety of toxic drugs while maintaining their efficacy.
The Company’s technology involves the conjugation of a drug to a polymer backbone and can be applied to many drugs, both marketed and in development. The technology which is broad based, can be applied to other classes of drugs such as in the field of cancer. The outcome is a rapid development of drugs with improved profiles such as: Improved Stability, Greater Solubility, Improved Drug Action by Prolonged circulation, & Reduced toxicity.
The Company
ConjuGate is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing a growing portfolio of novel anti–infective and anticancer drugs. The Company was established in November 2005 based on research conducted in the Hebrew University and the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem. The Company is being led by a team of renowned scientists and experienced executives.
Current Status
Conjugate has completed extensive in-vitro and in-vivo studies. Study results provide substantial proof of concept of the safety and efficacy of ConjuGate’s new drug "AmphoSol" and demonstrate superiority over existing anti-fungal therapies.
The FDA declared ConjuGate's product - a new drug entity. Pursuant to the Company’s regulatory plans, safety and efficacy studies will be established through pre-clinical studies to be conducted during 2007-2008, followed immediately by phase I and Phase II clinical studies, in 2008-2009. The Company expects to receive FDA and CE mark approval during 2013.
Intellectual Property
The technology and its applications are protected by two granted international patents and one PCT.
The patents cover various different conjugates of polysaccharides with therapeutically active compounds such as antibiotics and anticancer drugs and others, to produce nontoxic water soluble new drugs.
