In November of 2005, DarPharma Inc was acquired by BioValve. DarPharma was founded on discoveries patented by Professors Richard Mailman of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and David Nichols of Purdue University. The company has an exclusive license agreement for families of drugs in a portfolio of five issued patents and several pending applications. Dr. Laurene Wang-Smith, formerly of Triangle Pharmaceuticals and GlaxoWellcome, directs the drug development efforts of the company