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Symic is developing a new category of therapeutics that offer an exciting and biologically innovative approach to treating disease. While it is clear that cells play an important role in tissue inflammation and regeneration, it is also known that the extracellular matrix (ECM) plays an equally critical role in maintaining healthy tissue. The ECM is the non-cellular component of the body’s tissues, and proteoglycans are important structural and functional macromolecules native to the ECM that are known to protect against tissue degradation and promote healing during illness or injury. Recognizing the importance of proteoglycans in many acute and chronic disease states, Symic developed a library of proprietary, ECM-specific compounds that mimic the protective effect of natural proteoglycans. For controlled injuries (e.g. incisions, balloon angioplasty), Symic’s ECM-specific compounds allow for local application, enhancing their ability to attenuate inflammation and reduce scarring only at the site of injury. In disease states known for chronic inflammation involving the ECM (e.g. cartilage in osteoarthritis), Symic’s technology can disrupt the cycle of degradation-inflammation by directly targeting and protecting the injured ECM. The ECM plays a critical role in many acute and chronic disease states, many of which have limited or no effective therapeutic options. Symic plans to advance its compounds in a variety of therapeutic areas with unmet clinical needs.
CSL Plasma is a Boca Raton, FL-based company in the Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals, and Biotech sector.
Epizyme is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and plans to commercialize innovative personalized therapeutics for patients with genetically defined cancers. We systematically identify the genetic alterations that create cancer causing genes, called oncogenes, select patients in whom the identified genetic alteration is found, and then design small molecule therapeutic product candidates to inhibit the oncogene. The clinical development plan for each of our therapeutic product candidates is directed towards patients with a particular genetically defined cancer. Our approach is part of a broader trend towards personalized therapeutics based on first identifying the underlying cause of a disease affecting specific patient populations, applying rational drug design tools to create a therapeutic to inhibit a molecular target in the identified disease pathway, and using a companion diagnostic to select the right patients for treatment. We have built a proprietary product platform that we use to create small molecule inhibitors of a 96-member class of enzymes known as histone methyltransferases, or HMTs. Genetic alterations can result in changes to the activity of HMTs, making them oncogenic. When Epizyme was founded, we recognized that the HMT class of enzymes might contain many potential oncogenes and presented the opportunity to discover, develop and commercialize multiple personalized therapeutics. We have prioritized 20 of the 96 HMTs as attractive targets for personalized therapeutics based on their oncogenic potential. Our two most advanced therapeutic product programs target the HMTs DOT1L (for the treatment of acute leukemias with genetic alterations of MLL) and EZH2 (for a genetically defined subtype of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and solid tumors including INI1-deficient tumors). We believe that our ongoing Phase 1 adult trial for EPZ-5676, targeting DOT1L, is the first clinical trial of an HMT inhibitor. In May 2014, we initiated a Phase 1b clinical trial for EPZ-5676 in pediatric patients with MLL-r leukemia, which is considered to be the last largely untreatable pediatric acute leukemia. We are also conducting a Phase 1/2 clinical trial of EPZ-6438, which is being developed for the treatment of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and solid tumors including INI1-deficient tumors such as synovial sarcoma and malignant rhabdoid tumors, or MRT. We were founded in 2007 and are led by a management team with extensive experience in the pharmaceutical industry. We have entered into therapeutic collaborations with Celgene, Eisai and GSK that have provided us with approximately $184 million in non-equity funding. As of June 30, 2014, we had $232.1 million in cash, cash equivalents and accounts receivables.
Argene SA is a Massapequa, NY-based company in the Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals, and Biotech sector.
Kindred Hospitals LP is a Louisville, KY-based company in the Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals, and Biotech sector.