TransTech Pharma of High Point acquired all rights from Novo Nordisk to a portfolio of drug candidates under development to treat metabolic disorders. This portfolio includes receptor antagonists, agonists and inhibitors.
Novo Nordisk announced Jan. 15, 2006, a decision to focus all its research and development resources on the company's growing pipeline of protein-based pharmaceuticals. As a result of this decision the company said it would license existing preclinical and clinical small-molecule projects.
The drug candidates licensed by TransTech are novel, orally administered compounds discovered during a strategic research collaboration initiated in 2001 between TransTech and Novo Nordisk utilizing TransTech's proprietary small-molecule discovery engine, TTP Translational Technology.
"We are extremely pleased to have prevailed in the acquisition process and to add these programs to our robust diabetes and obesity portfolio," said Adnan Mjalli, PhD, TransTech's founder, chairman and chief executive officer. "We are confident that all three programs represent promising approaches to addressing unmet medical needs. These additions to the pipeline will allow TransTech to become a world leader in the discovery and development of novel treatments for diabetes, obesity and other metabolic disorders."
Commercialization of Small-Molecules
TransTech's 125 employees are focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of small-molecule and protein therapeutics for the cardiovascular, oncology, central nervous system, diabetes and obesity markets.
The company's proprietary drug-discovery engine, a highly automated platform called TTP Translational Technology, translates genomic and other biological data into effective small-molecule therapeutics, bypassing many of the traditional bottlenecks in drug discovery.
TransTech has developed collaborations with national and international corporations to discover and develop new therapeutics for the treatment of chronic diseases. Some of the ventures include Merck, Cephalon and Siga Technologies. Most recently, TransTech entered a $173 million out-license to Pfizer of compounds for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and diabetic disorders.
Expansion Plans
TransTech Pharma and PharmaCore, a sister company, announced in December plans to expand in High Point and create 205 jobs during the next five years. Company officials, who received nearly $10 million in local and state grants and incentives, announced they would in turn invest $23.3 million in expanding its facilities.
The companies occupy about 77,000 square feet of space at a corporate park off Mendenhall Oaks Parkway in High Point. The expansion plans call for a 30-acre campus containing about 186,000 square feet of space.