Manu’s Minute
Drug Development Without Borders
What do Oklahoma and Israel have in common? If you said long, hot summers, you’re right. But if you answered OMRF discoveries, you’re also correct.
This year, FutuRx, a biotech incubator in Ness Ziona, Israel, announced that its first two biotech companies had begun operations. One of those companies, XoNovo, is an OMRF spin-off.
Based on work that began at OMRF in the lab of Dr. Kenneth Hensley, XoNovo is developing small molecules to target a protein implicated in several neurodegenerative diseases. Through FutuRx, XoNovo is supported by an investment syndicate composed of Takeda Ventures, OrbiMed, Johnson & Johnson – JJDC, and the Israeli Office of the Chief Scientist.
As a research institute based in Oklahoma, it can be challenging to find corporate partners in biotechnology development. So when a group with global reach like FutuRx takes one of our projects under its wing, that not only provides the resources needed to advance our discoveries; it also sends a clear signal about the quality of the science coming from OMRF’s labs.
XoNovo’s parent compound, which was developed here at OMRF, has demonstrated positive effects in mouse models of multiple neurodegenerative diseases. XoNovo is now developing a candidate drug targeting a protein implicated in several neurodegenerative illnesses, including Alzheimer’s disease and Batten disease, a rare, fatal disorder of the nervous system that typically begins in childhood. Affected children suffer mental impairment, worsening seizures, progressive loss of sight and motor skills, and early mortality.
Did we ever imagine that we’d incubate a company on the Israeli coastal plane? Of course not. But I’ve learned that, much like science, technology development requires an element of serendipity and the will to explore new frontiers. And I’m excited for the next chapter in this globe-trotting story of discovery.
Wishing all of you a very Happy Holiday season,
Manu Nair
Vice President of Technology Ventures
|
|
|
|
Get BioBlast delivered to your inbox quarterly — sign up here.
