Alchemia Limited is an Australian biopharmaceutical company (ASX: ACL). Its FDA-approved drug Fondaparinux sodium is an antithrombotic (a generic version of GlaxoSmithKline'’s Arixtra), targeting the multi-billion dollar heparin-drug market. Alchemia has partnered this product with Dr Reddy'’s and received its first profits from sales of fondaparinux in August 2011. The market share and profits for this drug have risen consistently since launch.

It also has a late stage oncology product pipeline derived from the HyACT platform - a cancer-targeting technology that improves the efficacy of anti-cancer compounds through active transport to cancer cells through the CD44 receptor. HyACT-targeted drugs preferentially accumulate around cancer cells as a ‘drug depot’ which is rapidly internalized through receptor mediated endocytosis. The intracellular vesicle is then broken down, releasing the chemotherapeutic drug within the cancer cell resulting in increased cell death.

In addition, Alchemia has a drug discovery platform, VAST, derived from Alchemia’s chemistry expertise. VAST explores novel 3D compound shapes and functions in a systematic way to develop a thorough structure activity map. The key advantage to this technology is its true 3D shape and rigidity, aligned to a validated chemistry platform for rapid and focused optimization. The platform is currently deployed in pharma collaborations and internal programs in allosteric modulation and selective ion channel inhibitors.