CytoDyn CEO acquires anti-cancer agent

Allen Allen, chief executive of New Mexico, USA-based CytoDyn, has acquired the rights to a cancer fighting compound from Vera Stecher, his colleague who discovered the agent during a scientific expedition. At the time, Dr Stecher was working for Roche. Despite in vitro evidence for a strong effect against cancerous and precancerous tissue, that company decided the compound did not fit within its planned pipeline development, according to Dr Stecher, who kept the rights to the compound as her separate property.

The technology transfer took place when Dr Stecher reluctantly resigned from CytoDyn's board of directors due to a possible future conflict of interest perceived by her current employer, Pfizer.

CytoDyn intends to develop the cancer-fighting compound in parallel with Cytolin, the first targeted immune therapy for HIV/AIDS that was associated with a profound drop in viral burden in Phase I and IIa clinical trials. Although extensive human experience with Cytolin in community use and clinical trials has produced a good safety record and preliminary evidence for efficacy, the cancer-fighting compound is in preclinical development and there is no guarantee that the company will be able to successfully develop this new product, says CytoDyn.