Canadian health and wellness company PreveCeutical Medical Inc. (PMI) has signed a research and option agreement with , Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³» of Queensland’s main commercialisation company, to develop stabilised natural and synthetic peptides from scorpion venom for immune-boosting applications.
PMI has an interest in the preventative health sector and is developing products derived from Caribbean blue scorpion venom for the nutraceutical and pharmaceutical market.
This includes the CellB9 Immune System Booster product, which contains peptides that are obtained from the Caribbean blue scorpion.
In collaboration with UniQuest, PMI aims to identify the active peptides that provide immune-boosting and tumor-selective painting properties, develop synthetic versions of the active peptides and ultimately identify other therapeutic applications.
UniQuest CEO Dr Dean Moss said the project was based on the research of , of who will be collaborating with PMI.
“Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»’s School of Pharmacy has unique intellectual property in stabilising therapeutic peptides and is in a position to add value by extending PreveCeutical’s product line,” Dr Moss said.
“This agreement exemplifies the quality of Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»’s intellectual property and the willingness of its researchers to engage globally with industry to develop new products through university-industry collaborations.”
PMI Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Stephen Van Deventer said working with UniQuest and Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³» presented unique opportunities to develop products that promoted health and wellness.
“Wellness products developed from scorpion venom-derived natural and synthetic peptides have the potential to be applied across a number of therapeutic applications including boosting the immune system,” Mr Van Deventer said.
The agreement provides PMI with an option to negotiate for a license to use UniQuest’s intellectual property for the commercialisation of blue scorpion venom-derived products.
Media: Danielle Koopman, UniQuest: d.koopman@uniquest.com.au, + 61 (0) 409 767 199; Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³» Communications, communications@uq.edu.au; +61 7 3346 0561
About UniQuest
UniQuest is the main commercialisation company of Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³» of Queensland (Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»), specialising in the commercialisation of intellectual property, research outcomes and expertise. UniQuest delivers commercialisation outcomes which provide impact for business, the environment, global communities and society. UniQuest benchmarks in the top 10 percent globally for university-based technology transfer. Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³» innovations licensed by UniQuest are now generating annual sales of more than $US3 billion. For example, Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³» superconductor technology, through licensing arrangements, is used in two-thirds of the world’s MRIs and more than 80 million doses of the life-saving Gardasil® cervical cancer vaccine, patented by UniQuest in 1991, have been distributed throughout 121 countries, including 72 developing countries.
