Symbiochem™ Discovery Platform

Symbiochem™ is an integrated platform that effectively targets, screens and develops novel, diverse, biologically active compounds. This drug discovery platform is based on the natural, symbiotic relationship between certain microscopic species of worm (nematodes) and bacteria and on their ability to manipulate the invertebrate immune system. The soil living nematode invades an larva and, once inside, releases symbiotic bacteria from its gut into the larva’s blood circulatory system. The wide variety of metabolites, many of them biologically active, small molecules, produced by these symbionts enables them to survive and thrive within the insect.

The metabolic products of bacteria and fungi have been a frequent focus of research for novel pharmaceutical drugs. However, the availability of new technology and knowledge has enabled Welichem to demonstrate that metabolites from this model symbiotic system can serve as anti-inflammatory and/or anti-proliferative compounds.

An exceptionally high percentage of the metabolites, obtained through the use of Symbiochem™, are novel chemical entities (NCEs) that exhibit therapeutically significant bioactivity and have low toxicity. This drug discovery system has already proven to be highly effective, yielding many bioactive small molecules in over 10 distinct chemical classes, and over 50% of these are NCEs. Given the diversity within this symbiotic relationship, Welichem believes it has a pipeline of potential drug leads. Therefore, with a growing need for high quality rational libraries of pharmaceutical drugs in the market, Welichem is well positioned to leverage this superior technology

Welichem has purified and synthesized two major series of compounds from these metabolites and has established two disease-targeted R&D programs in the areas of:

• Autoimmune Diseases (using the WBI-1000 series of compounds)
• Cancer (using the WBI-2000 series of compounds)
  
  Competitive Advantages of the Symbiochem™ Discovery Platform
• Rational based: The molecular mechanisms regulating activity and suppression of the innate immune system are evolutionary conserved between invertebrates and mammals;
• Validated technology: Large percentage of molecules derived using Symbiochem™ are bioactive and show anti- inflammatory, anti-cancer or anti-microbial properties;
• Source of novel chemical identities: Majority of the molecules are NCEs;
• Integrated system: Drug discovery and disease class target are integrated into one system.
• High hit rate: These naturally occurring compounds are biologically active, target-specific and have low toxicity;
• Safety: These compounds occur naturally, are well tolerated by eukaryotic organisms where their function may parallel that in humans.