Gen Eng News: More CO Action!

If memory serves me correctly I have waxed on in the past about my affinity for Genetic Engineering News and often highlighted the journal when a Colorado company ended up in print there. Well the love story continues with the 15 November issue where Carol Potera composed a three-page treatise on the Colorado Science + Technology Park @ Fitzsimons and beyond.

A few companies highlighted include 1) MBC Pharma who is focused upon bone disease such as osteoporosis and cancer metastases, patients who die from breast, prostate or lung cancer have bone metastases and, presentation with bone metastases is correlated with shorter survival 2) MycoLogics, a company near and dear to my heart that is among other pursuits focused upon developing prophylactic and therapeutic approaches to Leishmaniasis, a disease where 350 million people in developing countries are at risk. 3) Caveo Therapeutics who is working on the discovery and development of biopharmaceuticals to treat and cure hematalogic conditions by inhibiting certain families of tyrosine kinases 4) ARCA Discovery who is developing genetically targeted therapies for heart failure and other cardiovascular disease, an NDA for bucindolol is expected to be filed shortly, and finally 5) Lohocla Research is a discovery and development company specializing in addiction, neurological disorders and related biomarkers for companion diagnostics.

You can read the article (here).

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MycoLogics: SJVF Vax Proof-of-Concept

MycoLogics, Inc., an innovative biotechnology company specializing in the development of novel therapeutic and prophylactic vaccines, announced that its prophylactic vaccine against coccidioidomycosis, also known as San Joaquin Valley Fever (SJVF), demonstrated statistically significant proof-of-concept results in an animal (murine, n=39) model assay. The animal model data demonstrated the low-dose efficacy of MycoLogics’ proprietary prophylactic vaccine and concurrently yielded a hazard ratio of 50%. Such hazard data indicated that the chance of dying from the cocci challenge in the group treated with the vaccine was one-half of that of the control (PBS) treated group. “These results are very exciting and allow us to move forward in the clinical development of a canine vaccine against Valley Fever” said Dr. Claude P. Selitrennikoff, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of MycoLogics, Inc.

SJVF is endemic in the southwestern US including California and parts of Mexico and South America. Inhalation of airborne spores after disturbance of soil exposes people. The incidence of the disease was 15/100,000 in Arizona in 1995. Of persons living in areas with endemic disease, between 10% and 50% have been skin tested positive. In addition to humans a variety of animals, from companion pets to food animals are susceptible to SJVF. All 5.2 million registered dogs in the U.S. southwest endemic area are at risk and the clinical infection rate is between 6% and 20% per year.

My Oh My, MycoLogics

It is often communicated that the entrepreneur an angel or VC is investing in may carry a superior gravitas than the widget itself, “We invest in people not ideas.”

Well Dr. Claude Selitrennikoff, Ph.D., CEO and founder of MycoLogics, Inc. is that serial entrepreneur packing both a track record of success in business acumen and scientific discovery that every seed stage investor should know about. Following the founding of MycoTox, Inc. in 1989 Claude then led the company to a successful exit to Alpha-Beta Technology in 1997 where he then assumed an executive vice president role, but the entrepreneur in him could not be held back and in 1999 Claude founded MycoLogics. Numerous patents and top-tier publications followed, along with a steady stream to fund operations from NIH Phase I and II SBIR grants totaling approximately $3MM, with additional grants pending review in 3Q05.

MycoLogics is an innovative bio-pharmaceutical company specializing in the development of therapeutic and prophylactic treatments against fungal and parasitic pathogens. The company is uniquely positioned to mitigate the primary risk faced by many other early stage counterparts, namely a diverse and robust pipeline of preclinical candidates rather than the proverbial and much too common fault of having all eggs in one basket. This diverse product portfolio targets a broad spectrum of both human and animal markets currently faced with unmet medical needs.

What continues to differentiate this slayer of fungi is its destiny with cash flow. By smartly choosing the canine and feline channel of combating Coccidioides, perhaps the most virulent of all fungal pathogens and the cause of San Joaquin Valley Fever, the therapeutic may be brought to the veterinary market in as little as eighteen months. All the while completing the critical preclinical data to allow for initiating a phase I human clinical trial which may be brought to the clinic by MycoLogics or this particular asset will undoubtedly have big-pharma salivating considering the role such a cocci therapeutic will play in the vast nosocomial market, whereby immunocompromised patients undergoing chemotherapy, organ transplantation and AIDS-HIV treatment to name a few are particularly susceptible to this and many other fungal infections. The model at MycoLogics calls essentially for a doubling effect for each portfolio asset if the animal market is appropriate.

MycoLogics is leveraging the Targeted Molecular Immunogens (Tarmogen™) technology via a non-exclusive license and option agreement with GlobeImmune, Inc. the patent owner who is currently engaged in human trials for lung and GI tract cancers and is soon to initiate a hepatitis C phase I trial. The Tarmogen™ platform allows MycoLogics numerous advantages in antifungal treatment, in that it effectively “turns on” both pathways of the body’s immune system, namely the humoral and cell-mediated channel, whereas previous treatment attempts would initiate only a single immuno-tributary. So with the body creating this robust immunological response MycoLogics has carved out a unique space for itself. The icing on the cake is that their product may be administered as a therapeutic or prophylactic and it is easy and inexpensive to manufacture.

From senior researcher at Merck to chair of the department of cell and developmental biology at the University of Colorado Health Science Center to successful entrepreneur back at it again, Claude is certain to add ROI to any money invested.

For investor information contact me or Dr. Claude Selitrennikoff, Ph.D..

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