NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) - Mercury Therapeutics said yesterday that it has granted Millipore exclusive worldwide rights to human AMP-activated protein kinase in the field of research products and services.
The AMPK patent was originally licensed by Mercury Therapeutics in 2000 from Dartmouth College. The patent is based on research by Dartmouth professor Lee Witters and his collaborator Bruce Kemp from the St. Vincent's Institute for Medical Research in Melbourne, Australia.
The transaction includes an undisclosed upfront license fee, royalties on net sales, and sharing of all sublicense revenue for the life of the agreement, Mercury said.
Mercury, based in Woburn, Mass., develops AMPK activators as therapeutics for type 2 diabetes, oncology, and cardiovascular disease.
"This association with Millipore promises to advance significantly the field of AMPK-directed therapies," Witters said in a statement.
Alla Kan, director of Dartmouth's Technology Transfer Office, added that the technology "has always been seen by us as one of our crown jewels, and now with this exciting development, its time has come."