Ohr Pharmaceutical & Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Announce Joint Venture

Ohr Pharmaceutical, a pharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel therapeutics for large unmet medical needs, and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) have announced the establishment of DepYmed Inc., a new joint venture to develop trodusquemine and related analogs.

The new joint venture will be a private entity, initially with equal ownership by Ohr and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. The two partners will seek funding and contribute to the research and development of trodusquemine and also newly patented analogs. The goal is to take the program into the clinic and to demonstrate proof of concept.

Andreas Grill, former Executive Director of Forest Research Institute for Forest Laboratories, Inc and current Center for Biotechnology BioEntrepreneur-inResidence has been tapped to serve as Chief Executive Office for DepYmed.

Read the full press release here.

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.

Symbiotic Health Wins Best in Show at 1st Pitch Competition

Symbiotic Health, Inc, a New York City based company and Center for Biotechnology client, was named “Best in Show” at the first of MABA’s 1st Pitch Life Science events in 2015, Symbiotic Health has developed a capsule to help kill Clostridium difficile (Cdiff) infection which causes severe, debilitating diarrhea, is the most frequent hospital-acquired infection in the US and an immediate public health threat that requires urgent and immediate action (CDC). The company’s pipeline includes a capsule microbiome therapeutic designed to cure Cdiff by restoring a community of protective bacteria.

Dr. Gerard Honig, CEO of Symbiotic Health, presented on behalf of the company. Stephen M. Goodman, Co-founder of Mid Atlantic Bio Angels and a partner at Pryor Cashman LLP in New York City, also a panelist at the event said Dr. Honig’s pitch and responses to questions demonstrated both mastery of the competitive space and a willingness to address challenges to his analysis calmly and directly. His style, as well as his substance, exemplified the maxim that it’s not just the business plan but the management that ultimately brings a company success. Read more about the company and the competition here.

High Tech Oral Hygiene BasicBites featured on Good Morning San Diego

BasicBites from Ortek Therapeutics was featured on Good Morning San Diego. BasicBites are sugar free, soft chews that can help maintain healthy teeth and support the acid-base (pH) level on tooth surfaces that are already in the normal range.

The core technology of BasicBites was developed by Israel Kleinberg, DDS, PhD, DSc, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Oral Biology and Pathology, and Director of the Division of Translational Oral Biology at Stony Brook University. View the brief video here: http://bit.ly/1GJ8Mth

The Entrepreneur’s Toolkit Workshop – April 21, 2015

The Entrepreneur’s Toolkit Workshop is the next installment of how to workshops for entrepreneurs, early phase companies, inventors, and anyone thinking of becoming an entrepreneur. Technology agnostic information on topics such as Seed Funding, Crowd Funding, What is the profile of a fundable company? Protecting my edge in intellectual property? What type of incorporation is right for me? will be presented. View complete agenda here.

This event will be taking place April 21, 2015 at the Center for Wireless and Information Technology at Stony Brook University. View event flyer – Registration for this singular event is at no charge, but space is limited – please reserve your seat here: http://www.cewit.org/newsevents/EntrepreneursToolkitInterestForm.html