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TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW Only computation can beat drug resistant mutations Upstream has developed and streamlined an accelerated research and development process that relies upon proprietary software, strategic partnerships and cost effective testing. Our development for new treatments for diseases begins wtih a unique proprietary software. This process (patent pending) allows us to constantly generate a list of potential compounds for the treatment of specific diseases based upon historical data, ongoing industry research and feedback from testing. The compounds are prioritized by the software for likelihood of efficacy which allows us to only test the most probable candidates. The process produces a continuous stream of drug candidates and has demonstrated a one in four success rate compared to the pharmaceutical industry average of one in 10,000.
How it works. One of the great advantages of our proprietary technology is its ability to optimize compounds quickly and cost effectively. Feedback from experiments is added to the existing computer models — resulting in a constantly improved supply of optimized potential compounds. The technology can even be used to identify novel applications for existing drugs that are used for another disease (drug repurposing). Our technology has already generated novel compounds that, in laboratory studies, demonstrate both human and veterinary potential against major infectious diseases. Upstream owns the worldwide rights to its existing library of novel compounds and potential drug scaffolds. How compounds are tested. We have an exclusive, renewable agreement with Lomonsov Moscow State University, one of the world’s premier research institutions and a leader in combinatorial chemistry, for the chemical synthesis of novel compounds. Moscow State University’s Combinatorial Chemistry Center has agreed to synthesize compounds to add to Upstream’s library and to supply us with quantities of compounds significant for in vitro and in vivo testing. Once we’ve received the compounds from Moscow State University, the testing will occur in a number of locations depending on which target disease. For example, we are working with the Makerere University for in vivo efficacy and toxicity testing of novel compounds for the treatment of African Sleeping Sickness. This collaboration will allow us to test our compounds in vivo with the same quality as testing within North America but at a fraction of the cost. For Malaria, we are collaborating with the ProvLab for in vitro testing. In February 2008, initial test results were released that demonstrated our drug candidates had anti-malarial activity in the nanomolar range. Activity in this range in a new class of drugs has the potential to represent an important advance in the treatment of this drug resistant disease. Once more pre-clinical tests are complete, we plan to move our compounds into FDA clinical trials, and, of course, results from these early tests are being added to our platform to rapidly generate additional drug candidates and further refine and optimize the therapeutic profile of our compounds. Please click here to see a list of all our current collaborators or here to see our current research and development pipeline.
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