UWM licenses company to test, sell new alcoholism drug
20.06.2008 04:00
Health
- Source: JS Online
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee licensed a newly developed alcoholism treatment to a Milwaukee-area pharmaceutical company, which in turn will shepherd the drug through the federal approval process. “The drug has considerable market potential,” said Frank Langley, president and chief executive of MPP Group LLC, a year-old pharmaceutical start-up that acquired the exclusive rights to test, market and sell the compound. MPP is based in the Milwaukee County Research Park in Wauwatosa. The alcohol-treatment compounds licensed to MPP interact with neurotransmitters in the brain to block the euphoric effects of alcohol without inducing anxiety or sedation, UWM said. The compounds came from the labs of James Cook, a UWM chemist who specializes in the central nervous system. Cook ranks as one of UWM’s best-known researchers. He owns four patents and has been with UWM for 34 years. His compounds might also be useful in treating other addictive behaviors or disorders, Langley said. Conservative estimates suggest that 17 million Americans live with some degree of alcohol addiction, suggesting a potentially large market, Langley said. But he added that the UWM-developed compound still requires at least three years of rigorous testing on animals and human clinical trials before MPP Group can expect a green light from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. It was not too early for UWM, however, to tout the license agreement. UWM is the state’s second-largest research university but lags the state flagship university in Madison by any measure as a research institution or economic engine. As a newcomer to the practice of using its research labs as an economic engine, UWM created a research foundation two years ago to help fund and encourage entrepreneurs and research. “This license agreement is a perfect example of pairing good science from UWM with a strong commercial development partner,” said Colin Scanes, UWM vice chancellor for research and economic development. Although UWM sold rights to other technologies through a predecessor to the UWM Research Foundation, the alcohol drug is only the second technology to have a license agreement arranged under the current system. The first license involved aquatic technology that grew out of UWM’s Great Lakes WATER Institute but was never publicized. UWM has declined to give details of the first license deal’s technology or which private-sector company acquired the license. The terms of the anti-alcoholism license were not disclosed either. But Brian Thompson, president of the UWM Research Foundation, which structured the licensing arrangements, said the alcohol drug has potential to provide significant financial returns for UWM. If the drug wins FDA approval and finds a market, MPP will pay royalties to UWM based on an undisclosed percentage of gross sales, Thompson said.
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