S-1 PREDIX PHARMACEUTICALS HOLDINGS, INC
We are a pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of novel, highly selective, small-molecule drugs that target G-Protein Coupled Receptors, or GPCRs, and ion channels. Our lead clinical-stage drug candidate, PRX-00023, completed a Phase II clinical trial in patients with Generalized Anxiety Disorder, or GAD, in July 2005. We expect to begin screening patients for the first of at least two pivotal Phase III clinical trials of PRX-00023 for this indication in early August 2005. Our two other clinical-stage drug candidates, PRX-03140 for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and PRX-08066 for the treatment of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension, or PAH, are in Phase I clinical trials.
GPCRs and ion channels are classes of proteins embedded in the surface membrane of all cells and are responsible for mediating much of the biological signaling at the cellular level. Drugs that target GPCRs or ion channels are among the most prevalent types of drugs in the world today. Of the top 50 selling drugs worldwide, as identified by IMS Health, we believe that nearly 40% interact with GPCRs or ion channels as their target proteins. Despite the commercial success of these drugs, many have undesired side effects due in part to these drugs binding not only to their target protein but also to other “off-target” proteins. Because few GPCR or ion channel protein structures have been identified, drug discovery for these targets is costly, inefficient, and in many cases does not lead to the desired, selective drug candidate. A greater understanding of these protein structures would allow compounds to be chemically altered to achieve specificity for the target and lack affinity for other receptors that are believed to be associated with side effects.
We believe that our proprietary drug discovery technology and approach addresses many of the inefficiencies associated with traditional GPCR and ion channel-targeted drug discovery. Our approach integrates computer-based, or in silico, technology with our medicinal chemistry capabilities, allowing us to rapidly identify and optimize highly selective drug candidates. We focus on GPCR and ion channel drug targets whose role in disease has already been demonstrated in clinical trials or preclinical studies. In each of our three clinical-stage programs, we used our technology and approach to optimize a lead compound into a drug candidate in less than ten months, synthesizing fewer than 80 compounds per program. We moved each of these drug candidates into clinical trials in less than 18 months from lead identification. We believe our drug discovery technology and approach enables us to more efficiently and cost-effectively discover and develop GPCR and ion channel-targeted drugs than traditional drug discovery methods.
[Edit: From elsewhere in the S-1]
We were incorporated in Delaware on November 2, 1994 as Takhus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and changed our name in December 1996 to Physiome Sciences, Inc. In August 2003, we acquired all of the capital stock of Predix Pharmaceuticals Ltd., an Israeli corporation, and changed our name to Predix Pharmaceuticals Holdings, Inc. Our principal executive offices are located at 4 Maguire Road, Lexington, Massachusetts 02421, and our telephone number is (781) 372-3260. Our web site address is www.predixpharm.com. The information contained in, and that can be accessed through, our web site is not incorporated by reference into this prospectus. We have included our web site address as a factual reference and do not intend it to be an active link to our web site.
[Second Edit: Looks like they'll need something like a 10:1 reverse split before the IPO.] |
