Chimerix

Patents

We have established a strong intellectual property (IP) portfolio comprised of numerous U.S. and international patents.  Our IP estate protects our technology and biological insights, our research and development candidates, and the investment the company and its shareholders have made in pioneering and developing its technologies. 

Chimerix is the owner or exclusive licensee of over 20 issued patents covering our Lipid-Antiviral-Conjugate Technology.  Chimerix continues to refine the Lipid-Antiviral-Conjugate Technology and file new provisional applications.  We also have composition of matter patents covering each of the compounds based on our Lipid-Antiviral-ConjugateTechnology.

We also have exclusive licenses to 12 U.S. patents covering the Chimerix Chemical Library (formerly the Townsend Chemical Library) from the University of Michigan.  The Chimerix Chemical Library is a unique collection of diverse small molecules encompassing 10,000+ heterocyclic compounds and nucleoside analogues.

Chimerix Chemical Library

Developed at the University of Michigan by Leroy Townsend, Ph.D., Chimerix’s library of chemical leads consists of a broad range of 10,000+ nucleoside and heterocyclic compounds focused on key antiviral and oncology targets.  The majority of Dr. Townsend’s research efforts focused on antimetabolites, an approach that has been successfully employed in the search for potent antiviral, antibacterial, anti-parasitic and anti-cancer agents.   

Chimerix has identified multiple novel classes of compounds and several nucleoside analogs with potent activity against hepatitis C virus (HCV), which have the potential to address a market in excess of $4 billion worldwide.  We plan to select a lead candidate for preclinical development as well as additional promising back-up compounds.

The library is also being screened for compounds with activity against influenza A and B, dengue virus, malaria and tuberculosis.   

Lipid Antiviral Conjugate Technology

Chimerix is applying its powerful Lipid-Antiviral-Conjugate Technology to existing antiviral compounds with the goal of increasing their bioavailability, tolerability and activity.  By improving the pharmaceutical attributes of drugs with known mechanisms of action to create new chemical entities, we believe we can dramatically change the way certain deadly viral diseases are treated.

Chimerix’s proprietary technology is used to covalently modify a drug molecule so that it mimics a naturally occurring phospholipid metabolite. The lipid mimic can then utilize natural uptake pathways to achieve oral availability.

We believe Lipid-Antiviral-Conjugate Technology-based drugs may be developed with reduced risks since they have a known mechanism of action. Preclinical studies and in vitro experiments on a number of drugs have shown specific improvements in biological activity compared with the parent drug.  CMX001 has demonstrated higher bioavailability than the parent drug cidofovir in initial human studies, and may offer a more convenient oral treatment option when compared to cidofovir, which must be delivered intravenously. Like CMX001, new drugs that utilize Chimerix’s Lipid-Antiviral-Conjugate Technology are protected as new chemical entities with strong composition of matter patents.

Our pipeline is fueled by two proprietary sources derived from the innovations of renowned antiviral scientists.

Our Lipid-Antiviral-Conjugate Technology was originally developed by Karl Hostetler, M.D., Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Diego and a leading expert in the field of infectious disease.  The Conjugate Technology is used to modify a drug molecule so that it mimics a naturally occurring phospholipid.  The lipid mimic can then utilize natural uptake pathways enabling oral bioavailability.  Unlike traditional prodrugs, the lipid conjugates are not cleaved until after they enter cells, thereby enhancing delivery of the antiviral to the site of viral replication and decreasing systemic exposure.  This technology has been used to create CMX001 and CMX157, with the goal of enabling bioavailability, reducing toxicity and improving activity.  

We also have exclusive rights to the Chimerix Chemical Library (formerly the Townsend Chemical Library,) which includes approximately 10,000+ compounds, including a large number of nucleoside analogs.  The Chimerix Chemical Library represents 40 years of research effort led by Leroy Townsend, Ph.D., of the University of Michigan to design and synthesize structurally and mechanistically diverse chemical agents.  Chimerix has identified potent nucleoside analogue drug candidates against hepatitis C virus (HCV), and compounds with activity against influenza, and malaria.  We are currently screening for leads against dengue virus and tuberculosis.