{xtd_wp_head}
Skip to content
About
Meet the Team at CURF

The CURF team has a broad background and depth of experience guiding new technologies from concept to commercialization.

+ Meet Our Team

Technology
Search All Available Technologies from CURF

Browse a full library of technologies available for commercialization.

+ Search Available Tech

Innovators
Ready to disclose your invention to CURF?

Submit an Invention Disclosure through the CURF Inventor Portal.

+ Disclose Your Invention

Students
Now Accepting Graduate Interns 

Apply for our internship program at the Clemson University Research Foundation.

+ Apply Now

Industry
Search our library of Available Technologies

Looking for a technology or invention to commercialize?

+ Search Available Tech

View on Technology Publisher Site

Keywords: Drug Discovery, Disease Treatment

Market Overview

African Trypanosomiasis, also known as “sleeping sickness,” is caused by microscopic parasites transmitted to humans by the Tsetse fly, found in rural Africa. It is a serious public health problem in sub-Saharan Africa, with around 10,000 new cases each year. This serious disease is fatal if left untreated, however, the currently available treatments are incredibly difficult to administer, and can be extremely toxic to the patient. Melarsoprol, one of the primary drugs used to treat late stage disease, is an arsenic derivative that is lethal to around 5% of patients who receive it. The global market for treatment of neglected tropical diseases was valued at $1.2 billion in 2018 and is expected to rise to $2.6 billion by 2021. The patient need, combined with global warming increasing the spread of tropical diseases north and southward, has created a strong demand for new solutions. Clemson researchers have developed novel compounds that are active against this devastating pathogen, offering an avenue for dramatically improved treatment.
Daniel Whitehead
Jim Morris
2019-019

Applications:

Drug discovery, Neglected Tropical Disease Treatments

Technical Summary Advantages

Technical Summary:

These compounds are diazocyclobutenes, synthesized via a novel and simple method, and could potentially be active against many different diseases. The compounds are currently demonstrated to be efficacious against Trypanosoma brucei, and have a superior safety profile to some of the currently available drugs. They are active in the nano- to micro-molar range, which is crucial for the development of a pharmaceutical, and although the structure-function relationship is not well understood, they are non-toxic to mammalian cells, a drastic improvement over the arsenic-derived compounds currently used to treat the disease.

Advantages:

• Novel synthesis pathway is simple and high yielding, resulting in cheaper production costs and high volumes produced
• Novel compounds have never been used for treatment of any prior disease, reducing acquired pathogen resistance to practically zero
• Compounds are active against Trypanosoma brucei, but non toxic to mammalian cells, providing improved targeting and less patient toxicity than previously available treatments

Download Printable PDF

Technology Overview

State of Development

Preliminary Data

Patent Type

Provisional

Category

Biomedical

Serial Number

62/817,150

CURF Reference No.

2019-019

Inventors

Daniel Whitehead, Jim Morris

For More Info, Contact:

Chris Gesswein

Executive Director, Director of Licensing agesswe@clemson.edu

Contact

Contact

All Technologies

Get Started
Ready to Get Started?

Contact our team at CURF

Contact CURF