Traverse Biosciences Secures $500k Seed Financing

Traverse Biosciences has announced that it has secured $500,000 in convertible debt financing to support operations and advance product development efforts. The seed financing was led by Excell Partners, with matching funds from a number of individual accredited angel investors. The Research Foundation for the State of New York (RF/SUNY) also participated in the financing, as part of an exclusive license and option agreement executed last year that gave Traverse Biosciences access to the relevant intellectual property for use in animal and human health.

Traverse Biosciences, which began when CEO Joseph Scaduto was serving as a BioEntrepreneur-in-Residence for the Center for Biotechnology, is working to commercialize its proprietary library of Stony Brook University invented chemically-modified curcumins for the treatment of chronic inflammatory conditions and cancers affecting humans and animals.

Read more about Traverse and the recent financing:

 

 

Applied Research and Development Awards Announced

The Center for Biotechnology has announced the recipients of the 2016-2017 Applied Research & Development (ARAD) awards. The ARAD Program is designed to help bridge the gap between the early-stage technology discovery and development capabilities of the academic community and the later-stage commercial development interests of the bioscience industry.

The program currently provides matching funds on a competitive basis to support collaborations between Stony Brook University faculty and NY State corporate partners in all areas of medical biotechnology. The primary interest is in supporting development of technologies that will help companies hit commercially relevant milestones, and that have the potential to positively impact the New York State economy. The projects funded include:

  • ICU Temporary Pacemaker – Dr. Wei Lin and Avery Biomedical Device, Inc.
  • Novel Synergistic and Pleiotropic Skin Brightening Agents – Dr. Sanford Simon and Biocogent, LLC
  • Continued In vivo Testing of Vaccine Candidates – Dr. Eckard Wimmer and Cogadenix, Inc.
  • Advanced Fistula-in-Ano Treatment Device – Dr. Tom Zimmerman and Pepper5, Inc.
  • Development of Nanoemulsion-PUFA-taxoids as Tumor-Targeted Chemotherapeutics – Dr. Iwao Ojima and TargaGenix, Inc.
  • Initial Pre-Clinical Safety Assessment of TRB-N0224 – Dr. Lorne Golub and Traverse Biosciences, Inc.
  • Evaluation of a Continuous Visible Light Disinfection System’s Ability to Reduce Bioburden and Subsequently the Incidence of Infections and Colonizations in an Active Patient Area – Dr. Annie Rohan and Vital Vio, Inc.

More information about the Applied Research & Development (ARAD) program, as well as all Center for Biotechnology Technology Development programs can be found here.

Traverse Biosciences Announces Issuance of U.S. Patent

Traverse Biosciences has announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has granted U.S. Patent No. 9,187,406 entitled, “Curcumin Analogues as Zinc Chelators and Their Uses,” which the company has exclusively licensed from the Research Foundation for the State University of New York (RF/SUNY). The issued patent includes claims that cover the composition of matter of the company’s proprietary library of chemically-modified curcumins, including its lead drug candidate, TRB-N0224.
Read more on the Traverse Biosciences website.

 

Traverse Biosciences Executes Exclusive, Worldwide License Agreement

Traverse Biosciences, founded by Joseph Scaduto – one of the Center for Biotechnology’s first BioEntrepreneurs-in-Residence, announced today that it has executed an exclusive, worldwide license agreement with the Research Foundation for the State University of New York (RF/SUNY) for access to the animal health applications of a proprietary library of polyenolic zinc-binding agents. The license agreement also extends Traverse Biosciences the exclusive option to license the human health applications of these promising drug candidates.

The drug compounds were invented by Lorne Golub, DMD, MD (Honorary), Distinguished Professor in the Department of Oral Biology and Pathology in the Stony Brook University School of Dental Medicine, and Francis Johnson, PhD, President of Chem-Master International Inc. and Professor of Chemistry and Pharmacology at Stony Brook. The drugs were developed in concert with the the Center for Biotechnology at Stony Brook University. The Center provided financial support to help the inventors develop their lead compound and for follow-on animal studies.

Click to read the press releases from Stony Brook University and Traverse Biosciences.

Traverse Biosciences receives $205,709 Phase I STTR Award

Traverse Biosciences, founded by the Center’s first appointed BioEntrepreneur-in-Residence Joseph Scaduto, was just awarded a $205,709, Phase I Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Award in Partnership with the School of Dental Medicine at Stony Brook University, to evaluate the effectiveness of the company’s lead drug candidate for the treatment of periodontal disease. This is the second Phase I STTR award for Traverse Biosciences this year. The research will be led by Lorne Golub, DMD, MD (Honorary) in the Department of Oral Biology and Pathology, and Ying Gu, PhD, DDS, in the Department of General Dentistry, who will serve as co-principle investigators on the award, in close collaboration with Traverse Biosciences.

“I congratulate Traverse Biosciences on securing a second STTR award to advance their product development and commercialization efforts,” stated Dr. Clinton Rubin, Director of the New York State Center for Biotechnology at Stony Brook University. He added, “STTR funding represents a significant milestone for graduates of our burgeoning BioEntrepreneur-in-Residence program, which is meant to impact the innovation economy and entrepreneurial ecosystem in the region.”

A full press release can be found here:


http://www.traversebiosciences.com/pr150126perio.html

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