Clayton Foundation for Research

The conduct of a longstanding research program at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, the purpose of which is to design and develop novel targeted therapeutic agents that target a powerful human toxin to specifically destroy cancer cells for the treatment of numerous cancer targets and other disease indications. A number of collaborations have been undertaken with researchers at various institutions (e.g., University of California San Diego, Stanford University, Johns Hopkins). Patent applications have been filed by Research Development Foundation ("RDF"), a tax exempt supporting organization of the Foundation (see schedule R, Part III), on more than twenty discoveries, and a number of patents have been issued. Licensing efforts have been ongoing and have resulted in several prior and current licenses.

A research program at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston is directed toward glaucoma, the second leading cause of permanent blindness in the world. More than 3 million Americans live with glaucoma, and it is estimated that perhaps millions more remain undiagnosed. The research includes opportunities to treat intraocular pressure (IOP) in a more targeted way that is independent of current medical therapies. State of the art technologies have been developed and are being used to analyze and characterize the molecular changes associated with the early stages of the diseases. The researchers are optimistic that this approach will lead to the identification of new potential therapies for glaucoma.

A research project at Baylor College of Medicine in gene and protein therapy focuses on inappropriate cell division and cell death within the human body. Much of the work is devoted to intraocular angiogenesis, with particular attention to: 1) the signals that control this process, 2) the development of animal models of human ocular disease, and 3) development of potential therapies. New targets have been identified and potential therapeutic agents are being developed and tested for the treatment of wet AMD. Patent applications have been filed by RDF, one of the Foundation's supporting entities, on several discoveries arising out of this research. Licensing efforts by RDF resulted in a license to a commercial company that, using project technology, completed a Phase I human clinical trial with gene therapy to treat wet age-related macular degeneration. The company continues to develop a therapeutic canidate based on the project technology to inhibit neovascularization of corneas following transplantation.