Manu’s Minute
Selexys:
A Holiday Home Run
At this time of year, it’s always nice to share an upbeat story. And with the recent acquisition of Selexys Pharmaceuticals by Novartis, there’s a lot of good cheer to spread here at OMRF and around the Oklahoma City biotech community.
Drs. Rodger McEver and Richard Cummings, then both researchers at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, co-founded Selexys in 2002. The company centered its development efforts around selectins, a family of vascular adhesion molecules.
Selexys initially focused its efforts on anti-selectin antibodies as a treatment for Crohn’s disease. But when an anti-P-selectin antibody (now known as SEG101), showed promise for the treatment of sickle cell disease, the company switched gears.
With angel investments from a group of Oklahoma City investors and licenses for follow-on patents from OMRF, where McEver had relocated, Selexys made steady progress in developing SEG101. Led by Scott Rollins, a former OUHSC grad student and OMRF post-doc who played a key role in the pre-clinical development of Alexion’s Soliris, Selexys eventually secured $25 million in series A funding.
The funding round was led by MPM Capital, and it was accompanied by an exclusive option-to-purchase deal with Novartis. That agreement with Novartis was contingent upon SEG101’s successful completion of a Phase 2 clinical trial in patients with sickle cell disease.
In November, weeks ahead of the scheduled announcement of the results of the SelG1 SUSTAIN trial Phase 2 results, Novartis exercised its option. The deal is valued at up to $665 million.
At the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology this past weekend, trial results showed that SEG101 showed significant (45 percent) reduction of sickle cell-related pain crises. “We are pleased that data from the SUSTAIN study show SEG101 may have the potential to become the first new option for patients dealing with SCPC since hydroxyurea was approved for use in sickle cell anemia about 20 years ago,” said Bruno Strigini, CEO of Novartis Oncology.
This represents a big step forward for sickle cell patients. Plus, there may still be another present under the tree: Rollins has spun off a new company, Tetherex, that’s now developing anti-selectin-based treatments for cancer and Crohn’s.
It’s been a nice way to ring out 2016 for biotech in Oklahoma City. Here’s hoping your year was also a rewarding one—and that 2017 is even better.
Wishing all you a Happy Holidays and a great new year!
Manu Nair
Vice President, Technology Ventures
OMRF, Eisai join forces on lupus
In October, Eisai and OMRF formed a research collaboration to study the autoimmune disease lupus.
Read all about the deal here
Mark your Calendar
Registration details will follow after the holidays, but we hope you’ll join us for the second OMRF BioVenture Forum.
Already confirmed are representatives of national and international biopharma, diagnostic and VC/investment groups with potential interest in forging collaborations with scientists and exploring commercialization of technologies.
Our first forum, held in 2015, featured:
- Interactive industry-academic panels and targeted discussions
- Opportunities to meet Oklahoma’s governor and the Chair of the and HHSHealthU.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Labor,
- Suite attendance at an Oklahoma City Thunder basketball game
We’re planning a similar line-up for April 2017 to provide a unique
Oklahoma City experience for biopharma representatives and investors.
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