On August 18, 2020 AIkido Pharma Inc. (Nasdaq: AIKI) ("AIkido" or the "Company") reported that it will provide funding for a 30-day survival study in mice in collaboration with University of Kentucky related to the anticancer drug designated G4-1, a novel proteasome inhibitor (Press release, AIkido Pharma, AUG 18, 2020, View Source [SID1234563806]). In exchange, Aikido has been granted an exclusive option to license the drug ("Option") pending the results of the study.
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The Option includes two issued patents, United States Patent Nos. 9,493,439 and 9,586,946, each having expiration dates in the mid-2030’s. AIkido was previously granted an option to license these patents, which it did not exercise in favor of performing this further research.
Mr. Anthony Hayes, CEO of AIkido stated, "The published mouse data on G4-1 shows exciting promise for the treatment of solid tumors compared to already approved drugs. Given those encouraging preliminary results, we agreed to fund a survival study to determine whether G4-1 can also increase survival over the marketed drugs. This transaction represents another low-risk initiative to bolster our portfolio. We optimistically anticipate the results of this study and hope they support adding G4-1 to our oncology products."
Dr. Chang-Guo Zhan, Professor, College of Pharmacy at the University of Kentucky, added, "Proteasome inhibitors in current clinical use are all peptides with very low in vivo stability. G4–1 is a non-peptide proteasome inhibitor with the desirably high in vivo stability required for the treatment of solid tumors. We are excited about the opportunity to further evaluate the therapeutic potential of G4-1 with funding supporting from AIkido."