Farrell awarded patent for kifunensine analogs

Dr. Mark Farrell, Medicinal Chemistry, was awarded a patent for kifunensine analogs.  The molecules described in this patent are derivatives of the natural product kifunensine. kifunensine is a type-I mannosidase inhibitor, and while kifunensine exhibits potent activity in biochemical assays, it exhibits poor activity in cell-based assays due to limited cell permeability. The kifunensine derivatives were designed to overcome this limitation, and we have developed the most potent kifunensine analogs described to date. The molecules have numerous potential therapeutic applications for a variety of diseases, but can also be applied to aid the production of glycoprotein therapeutics.