Proposal Development Support – SBIR/STTR

The Center for Biotechnology is offering one-on-one SBIR/STTR proposal development counseling and iterative grant writing services to companies – application for next cohort is June 5th!

Companies that have completed our intensive 2-day workshop (or similar program) and/or have previously submitted an unsuccessful SBIR/STTR proposal in the past are eligible to apply. Services provided under this program are awarded through a competitive application process and include a weekly “best practices” proposal development webinar followed by iterative review of section drafts to guide stepwise development of the proposal from start to finish.

Companies selected for this follow-on counseling will be required to contribute $250 and will receive up to 10 hours of iterative proposal development services valued at $2000. These services will be subsidized by the Center for Biotechnology through the Downstate New York SBIR Assistance Program.
Interested companies should apply online no later than June 5, 2020. The application can be found here: https://forms.gle/5m9kAN8nUnzEyXyi9.

Contact Kate Hutchinson kate.hutchinson@stonybrook.edu with questions.

LIBH Innovator Awarded Alexandria LaunchLabs Seed Capital Prize

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory’s Alex Vaughan was awarded the 2018 Alexandria LaunchLabs Seed Capital Prize for the CSHL spinoff company MapNeuro Inc. during the NYC Life Science Innovation Showcase, held in New York City on June 14, 2018. Valued at $100,000, the prize, meant to fund early-stage development companies, includes a scholarship to Alexandria LaunchLabs, a cash award, and an investment from the Alexandria Seed Capital Platform, an innovative funding model catalyzing seed-stage life science investment.

MapNeuro Inc. commercializes “molecular connectomics” technology developed in the laboratory of CSHL Professor Anthony Zador. MapNeuro uses this platform to understand brain-wide patterns of neuronal connectivity, and is specifically targeting neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s Disease and Alzheimer’s Disease.

Read the full article here.

Client News: First In-Human Clinical Trial Targeting CD4 Protein for Aggressive T-cell Leukemia and Lymphoma to be Launched

Stony Brook University, iCell Gene Therapeutics and University of Louisville collaborate to offer a new CAR T immunotherapy to treat patients.

Stony Brook University, iCell Gene Therapeutics, and the University of Louisville, have received Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance for an Investigational New Drug (IND) for the treatment of relapsed and refractory T-cell leukemia and lymphoma. The approach is the first to use chimeric antigen receptor engineered T-cells directed against the target protein CD4 (CD4CAR). Together, Stony Brook University, the University of Louisville, and iCell Gene Therapeutics expect the first in-human Phase I clinical trial to begin accruing patients before the end of 2018.

“We are excited to partner with the University of Louisville and iCell Gene Therapeutics to offer this innovative first-in-human CAR T cell immunotherapy clinical trial for patients who are suffering from these extremely difficult to treat T cell lymphomas and leukemias,” said Huda Salman, MD, Principal Investigator for the IND and an oncologist at Stony Brook University Cancer Center. “CD4CAR T cells may prove to be a promising and novel therapy in this setting.”

“The development of this trial using CD4 as a target is the first of what we expect to be many CAR T-based clinical trials available to our patients over time,” said Yusuf Hannun, MD, Director of the Stony Brook University Cancer Center. “The pending trial is an example of the type of bench-to-bedside research that is building up at Stony Brook due to the growing expertise and collaborative research environment we are creating and new opportunities that will emerge upon the opening of our Medical and Research Translation (MART) Building.”

William Tse, MD, FACP, Chief of the Blood and Marrow Transplantation at the University of Louisville School of Medicine, is the Co-PI of the CD4CAR clinical trial at University of Louisville site.

“Heavy-Hitting LI BioMentor Initiative Makes It Official”

The Long Island BioMentor Initiative (LIBMI) officially accepted its first program applications in a “launch event” at the de Seversky Mansion on Thursday May 10, 2018. Already a year into a “pilot phase,” the LIBMI was developed in league with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Venture Mentoring Service which employs an “objective team-mentoring model” for early-stage businesses that champions one strict rule above all others: The uber-qualified mentors are prohibited from investing in, pitching business to or otherwise profiting from their mentees.

Read the full article from Innovate Long Island.

CFB BEIR Receives $1.9M SBIR Fast-Track

Avanti Biosciences, Inc. a preclinical-stage biopharmaceutical company lead by Center for Biotechnology BioEntrepreneur-in-Residence Dr. Gian Luca Araldi, has announced that the National Institute of Aging (NIA) has awarded the Company an SBIR fast-track grant of up to $1,930,000 to support the company’s small molecule treatment for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) over the next 3 years.

The award will enable the preparation and testing of Avanti’s proprietary compounds derivatized from natural catechins, which inhibit DYRK1A, an enzyme that modulates tau phosphorylation. Working with NY Institute for Basic Research and the University of California San Diego (UCSD), the company hopes to attenuate and potentially reverse pathogenesis for Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases.

“This award marks a significant milestone for Avanti Biosciences and an important step for their research into a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease” stated Dr. Clinton Rubin, Director of the New York State Center for Biotechnology at Stony Brook University. “The Center for Biotechnology is thrilled to see another success for one of the emerging bioscience companies fueling our regional bioecosystem and we proudly support Dr. Araldi’s work as one of our BioEntrepreneurs-in-Residence.”

Dr. Gian Luca Araldi, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Avanti, stated, “We are delighted to have been granted this funding from the NIA as it underscores the great need for innovative, effective treatments for this disease, and recognizes the potential benefits that our compounds may provide for patients with AD. The continuous support of Center for Biotechnology and the BioEntrepreneur-in-Residence program has been critical force in the development of our technology and the company as whole.”

More than five million people in the United States are living with Alzheimer’s disease, a progressive, irreversible, neurodegenerative disease that destroys memory and other cognitive abilities. It is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States and as the aging population in the country grows, the incidence rate is expected to rise dramatically.

Learn more about Avanti Biosciences: avantibiosciences.com