Profile

Plexxikon is a leader in the discovery and development of novel, small molecule pharmaceuticals. The company has utilized its proprietary discovery platform to successfully develop a portfolio of competitively differentiated clinical and preclinical stage programs in a number of therapeutic areas, including cardio-renal disease, CNS, inflammation, metabolic disease and oncology. A registration program has been initiated in 2009 for Plexxikon’s most advanced program, PLX4032, for the treatment of melanoma. With an option to co-promote PLX4032 in the U.S. as well as a pipeline of oncology opportunities, Plexxikon is laying the foundation for its first commercial franchise—in oncology. Other clinical stage programs include drug candidates for polycystic kidney disease, diabetes, metastatic disease and rheumatoid arthritis. Plexxikon is uniquely positioned to develop multiple commercial franchises for different therapeutic indications, and build significant value for Plexxikon, its collaborators and investors.

Plexxikon's unique discovery approach, combined with an experienced management and scientific team, a broad network of scientific and clinical experts, and partnership deals that secure near term funding and retain significant commercial rights, have been key drivers of the company's success since it began operations in 2001.

With its Scaffold-Based Drug Discovery Platform™, Plexxikon uses compound and target structural data to guide chemistry early in the drug lead generation process in conjunction with a highly specialized scaffold-like screening library, to design new drug candidates within various families of drug targets. This systematic, cost-efficient approach allows Plexxikon to leverage its target-specific chemistry investment for multiple targets within a given family. Additionally, Plexxikon’s platform has proven particularly amenable to the design of highly selective kinase inhibitors. This selectivity has enhanced the safety profile of its targeted drugs.