Starpharma Holdings Limited today announced the establishment of a start-up biotechnology company (as a foundation shareholder).
The company – Dimerix Bioscience Pty Ltd (“Dimerix”) – is a specialist drug development company established to commercialise unique technology developed at the Western Australian Institute for Medical Research in the exciting new field of receptor coupling, specifically G-Protein coupled receptors (“GPCRs”).
Receptor coupling is one of the basic signalling mechanisms of biological systems, and because of their size Starpharma’s nano-structures have natural advantages in designing drugs to control receptor coupling and cell signalling.
Starpharma assisted with the establishment of Dimerix and is providing in-kind contributions including commercial management expertise, and AUD$200,000 cash. In exchange Starpharma has received a 30% equity holding, making it the largest shareholder of Dimerix. Listed technology commercialisation company QPSX Limited (ASX:QPX) is also a minor foundation shareholder in Dimerix.
In addition to its equity position Starpharma has entered into a drug development project with Dimerix based on the combination of Starpharma’s dendrimer nano-structures with the Dimerix Collision technology. Receptor coupling is a basic mechanism of action for polyvalent drugs, and therefore the combination of polyvalent dendrimers with knowledge of receptor coupling opens up a whole new area of drug development.
Starpharma CEO Dr John Raff said: “this collaboration is another example of Starpharma’s strategy of partnering with developers of world-leading technologies to complement our own development programs and at the same time, leveraging Starpharma’s unique nano-drugs and strong IP position.”