Kosan Biosciences

Kosan uses its proprietary technologies to develop drug candidates from an important class of natural product compounds known as polyketides. Polyketides are a rich source of many pharmaceuticals, including antibiotics (e.g., Zithromax, Biaxin, erythromycin and tetracyclines), anticancer drugs (e.g., doxorubicin), cholesterol-lowering drugs (e.g., Zocor, Mevacor and Pravachol), immunosuppressants (e.g., FK506 and rapamycin) and other therapeutics. However, polyketides are made in very small amounts in microorganisms and are difficult to make or modify chemically. Kosan's technologies enable the creation, modification and production of polyketides in ways that are not otherwise possible. Kosan can introduce specific alterations in the structure of known polyketides in order to improve on existing drugs and to rapidly create novel polyketides as potential new drugs. We also can take the genetic instructions for making a polyketide out of one microorganism and put them into another microorganism that provides a more favorable environment to grow and produce more of the polyketides.