Phase I clinical trials for a compstatin family peptide are completed successfully and preparation for Phase II is announced. The announcement came from Potentia Pharmaceuticals (http://www.potentiapharma.com/about/news.htm#28). POT-4, a potent analog of the compstatin family, is a drug candidate against age-related macular degeneration. The compstatin family peptides are subject of research for UCR’s Bioengineering Professor Dimitrios Morikis for over 13 years. Contributions of Professor Morikis in the development of potent compstatin analogs are described in 28 research papers, reviews, and book chapters and in patent applications. Professor Morikis is the director of the Biomolecular Modeling and Design Lab (BioMoDeL, http://www.engr.ucr.edu/~dmorikis/), which focuses on basic studies of the function of immune system proteins, the design of immune system regulators with tailored physicochemical properties, and knowledge-based design of low-molecular mass inhibitors of the immune system, targeting autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. He uses computational methods and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. He is co-editor of the volume Structural Biology of the Complement System. Professor Morikis is a Fellow of AIMBE and AAAS.

The chemical structure of the 13-amino acid cyclic peptide compstatin, indicating the two positions, X4 and X9, which were optimized to yield the most potent analog (from: Mallik, B, Katragadda, M, Spruce, LA, Carafides, C, Tsokos, CG, Morikis, D, and Lambris JD, 2005, Design and NMR characterization of active analogs of compstatin containing non-natural amino acids, Journal of Medicinal Chemistry 48:274-286).

Related links

List of Professor Morikis compstatin publications: http://www.engr.ucr.edu/~dmorikis/compstatin_pubs.html

Clinical Trials: http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00473928

Princeton Weekly Bulletin (2003): http://www.princeton.edu/pr/pwb/03/1013/3b.shtml

UCR’s Bioengineering Department: http://www.bioeng.ucr.edu/