HIGH POINT, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--TransTech Pharma, LLC today announced a global licensing agreement granting Calithera Biosciences, Inc. exclusive world-wide rights to research, develop and commercialize TransTech’s portfolio of hexokinase II inhibitors. TransTech will receive an upfront payment and will be eligible to receive future development and commercialization milestones as well as royalties on sales of approved products.
Hexokinase II is the first enzyme in the pathway that enables cancer cells to convert glucose to energy and building blocks required for cancer cell growth. The Warburg effect describes the particular reliance of cancer cells on glycolysis for energy and tumor cell survival. FDG-PET imaging of cancer and diagnosis in the clinic exploits the Warburg effect by detection of increased uptake of a glucose analogue by cancer cells. Increased glycolysis has been posited to be an essential part of carcinogenesis, conferring a significant growth advantage as well as promoting typical tumor progression making it a new promising modality for treatment of cancer.
“We are excited to be partnering our hexokinase II program with Calithera. We selected Calithera because of their specific expertise and focus in tumor metabolism research and development and look forward to our continued partnership. This portfolio of hexokinase II inhibitors was discovered using our Translational Technology® which has also been utilized in the discovery of our other clinical and preclinical programs,” said Stephen L. Holcombe, President and CFO, TransTech Pharma, LLC.
About TransTech Pharma, LLC
TransTech Pharma, LLC is a privately held, clinical-stage pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of human therapeutics to fill unmet medical needs. The Company’s high-throughput drug discovery platform, Translational Technology®, translates the functional modulation of human proteins into safe and effective medicines. TransTech Pharma, LLC has a pipeline of small-molecule clinical and pre-clinical drug candidates for the treatment of a wide range of human diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes and other metabolic disorders, inflammation and oncology. For further company information, visit http://www.ttpharma.com
About Calithera Biosciences, Inc.
Calithera Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:CALA) is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing novel small molecule drugs directed against tumor metabolism and tumor immunology targets for the treatment of cancer. Calithera's lead product candidate, CB-839, an orally bioavailable inhibitor of glutaminase, is currently being evaluated in three Phase 1 clinical trials in solid and hematological cancers. Calithera is headquartered in South San Francisco. For more information about Calithera, please visit www.calithera.com.
