Metastatix, a drug development startup, has received approval from the Food and Drug Administration for its investigational new drug application.
The FDA decision enables Metastaix to proceed with testing of a compound called MSX-122. The company will launch a Phase I clinical trial to determine the safety of MSX-122 for the treatment of solid tumors.
Metastatix was founded in 2005. The company’s technology is licensed from Emory University. The firm is targeting HIV and cancer.
Last Month, Metastaix closed on $35 million in new venture financing. Backers include H.I.G. ventures and the Aurora Funds.
As its name implies, the company targets cancer that has metastasized, or spread. According to the company, Metastatix’s lead compound is able to inhibit both primary tumor growth as well as prevent metastasis.
The technology was developed at Emory by Dr. Dennis Liotta. Liotta discovered three drugs that are now commercial, including Gilead’s Emtriva, which part of the world’s top selling HIV cocktail, Truvada.
The credit for Metastatix’s rapid development path goes to our very talented team,” said Carol Gallagher, the company’s chief executive officer. “We are very pleased to have produced a viable candidate for treating a disease as devastating as cancer in the two years since the company’s founding.”
