Project title: EXPRESSION OF PROTEINS IN YEAST FOR THERAPEUTIC AND INDUSTRIAL USES

Company name : JEXYS PHARMACEUTICALS LTD.

LTD.

TECHNOLOGICAL FIELD
Biotechnology

KEY WORDS
Biotechnology, Ethical
Drug Development, High Throughput Screening, p38, MAP Kinase,
Inhibitors, Rheumathoid Arthritis, Inflammation, Cardio Vascular,
Cancer, Diabetes

PROJECT SUMMARY
JEXYS PHARMACEUTICALS LTD. is a cell-based drug discovery
company concentrating on drugs that inhibit MAP Kinase (MAPK)
proteins. JEXYS has established and validated a unique platform
technology - a simple and cost effective high throughput in vivo
drug discovery system in yeast. Using its novel system, JEXYS has
isolated two p38 inhibitors, one of which is new. JEXYS will
continue to search for compounds that inhibit the activity of p38
and other MAPK proteins.
JEXYS' technology enables high-throughput in-vivo screening of
chemical libraries in yeast, to identify compounds that inhibit
the activity of proteins from the MAPK family. We introduce
active variants of human MAPKs into yeast cells. These active
MAPKs repress the yeasts' growth. Inhibitors of MAPKs prevent
this repression and allow normal cell growth, resulting in a
clear quantitatively measurable phenotype.

MARKET
Approximately 1 in 5 people in the western world suffer from
autoimmune diseases. p38 inhibitors have been clinically shown to
be beneficial for inflammatory (autoimmune) diseases. There is
also evidence that attenuation of p38 activation leads to
myocardial protection against ischaemic heart disease. p38 is
also known to be active in other diseases including Alzheimer's
disease and diabetes. p38 also contributes to the resistance of
cancer cells to treatment. It is predicted that the total market
for autoimmune disease prescription drugs will soon exceed US
$20B, and for cardio-vascular prescription drugs US $43B.

ENTREPRENEUR
Prof. David Engelberg - Ph.D., a
broad scientific experience in the fields of Biochemistry and
Molecular Biology, focused on the study of the mechanisms of gene
expression both in mammalian and yeast cells.

PROJECT STATUS
The company was established in 1999. It has finished the
incubator period and operates independently.
JEXYS has a compound that inhibits p38 activity, with a market
potential in the billions of dollars. The company believes this
compound will prove to be a viable drug, since JEXYS' unique
screening system ensures that the compounds are not cytotoxic and
are capable of crossing the cell's membrane, which are two of the
major hurdles for compounds at early drug development stages. In
parallel, JEXYS will set up a large scale screening project of
500,000 compounds to establish several pre-clinical p38 inhibitor
drug candidates.

COOPERATION REQUIRED
1) Collaboration on small molecules libraries. JEXYS would like
to screen such libraries for p38 inhibition, in return for equity
or deferred payment, or joint development of hits.

2) An investment of US $2.2 Million over a period of 24 months.
JEXYS will set up a large scale screening project for 500,000
compounds, which will create its drug pipeline, and give
substantial value to the company. At the same time JEXYS will
optimize and validate its lead compound, finalize the
intellectual property filings, grow the organization, and set-up
the infrastructure for clinical trials.
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POB 39024, JERUSALEM 91390 ISRAEL TEL. 972-54-7629383 FAX:
972-2-6584910 E-MAIL: gd@jexys.com WEB: www.jexys.com

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