Viteava Pharmaceuticals

Viteava is a start-up drug development company focused on improving the treatment and management of cancer and related conditions.

Viteava Pharmaceuticals is a start-up drug development company focused on improving the treatment and management of cancer and related conditions. It is a world leader in the chemistry and biology of small molecule analogs and derivatives related to the green tea flavonoid, (-) epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG). A large volume of scientific literature has demonstrated the health benefits of green tea and EGCG, however the therapeutic use of EGCG is limited by its poor bioavailability. Viteava’s drug candidates affect important biological pathways targeted by EGCG, while demonstrating enhanced potency and bioavailability in the absence of significant toxicity. Viteava’s strategy leverages clinical data with green tea extracts in patients where biological responses have been observed. The company’s drug candidates are designed to improve these treatment regimens and enhance the biological responses. Viteava is a virtual company with R&D activities in Toronto, Montréal and Detroit. It hopes to bring its first drug candidate to the clinic before the end of 2015. The company’s unique technology platform is based on a rationally-designed library of novel compounds derived from EGCG. A large volume of scientific literature has demonstrated the efficacy of EGCG and green tea extracts in animal and human studies of direct relevance to cancer prevention and treatment strategies. Viteava leverages more than 12 years of research in this field from the laboratories of Professor Tak-Hang (Bill) Chan of McGill University and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Professor Q. Ping Dou of Wayne State University. The company has secured an exclusive worldwide license to a portfolio of intellectual property developed at McGill University, Wayne State University, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and the University of South Florida. Patents have issued in the U.S., Japan and China and are under prosecution in other international jurisdictions.