DOR BioPharma Initiates Botulinum Toxin Therapeutic Program

DOR BioPharma has initiated a rational drug design program to identify oral, small molecule drugs to counter the deadly effects of Botulinum toxin exposure.

Capitalizing on research focused on structure/function relationships of Botulinum toxin done by Lance Simpson, the inventor of DOR's oral Botulinum toxin vaccine, BT-VACC, DOR has entered into an agreement with Blue Dolphin, a firm specializing in rational drug design, to apply computer-aided design to the discovery of new drug leads against Botulinum toxin.

Under the agreement, Blue Dolphin will propose novel drug-like inhibitors of Botulinum toxin by targeting a new site on the toxin's structure identified by Simpson. Millions of candidate molecules will be modeled for structural and chemical fit to the target site on the toxin using computer-aided discovery techniques. The best fitting molecules will be tested by Simpson for their effectiveness in treating Botulinum toxin exposure.