Michael A. Palladino, Kobi M. Sethna, Stan Fleming, William Fenical
Headquarters
San Diego, California, United States
Key people
Michael A. Palladino Ph.D.(Scientific Co-founder, SVP and Chief Technology Officer) Kobi M. Sethna (President, CEO)[1] Gary Shearman (Chairman of the Board)[2] G.
Until 2004, Nereus used methods licensed from the University of California, San Diego to retrieve and cultivate marine microorganisms, particularly bacteria in the Actinomycetia class and organisms belonging to Kingdom Fungi.[4] Since 2004, the company has focused on commercializing identified bioactive natural products.[4] As of mid-2007, two compounds were being examined in Phase I clinical trials: NPI-2358 and NPI-0052.[4]
Plinabulin (NPI-2358) is a halimide derivative, halimide itself having been isolated from a member of genus Aspergillus.[4][6] This compound appears to selectively disrupt tumour vasculature through interaction with microtubules.[4]
NPI-1342 (Acanthoic Acid analog, NPI-1302a-3) is a plant derived orally active small molecule that targets the NF_kB transcript factor pathway. It is significantly active against cancer and inflammatory diseases and is being developed for clinical testing in multiple myeloma and glioblastoma.