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Locus Fermentation Solutions is the the accelerator company for Locus Agricultural Solutions and Locus Bio-Energy Solutions, LLC.
Kezar co-founder Christopher Kirk, Ph.D. began his work on the unique function of the immunoproteasome at Proteolix in 2005, while working on the compound that would become the successful multiple myeloma drug KYPROLIS™ (carfilzomib). As VP of Research at Onyx Pharmaceuticals, which acquired Proteolix in 2009, Christopher led the efforts to develop the first selective inhibitors of the immunoproteasome and designed multiple studies demonstrating their profound immunomodulatory effects. In parallel with this work, Christopher and Kezar co-founder Jack Taunton, Ph.D. collaborated on several research projects involving protein secretion. This collaboration inspired a belief in the strong synergies between protein degradation and protein secretion, two fertile areas for drug discovery with platform potential. In 2014, Christopher and Kezar co-founder John Fowler began developing the business plan for Kezar, acting on a longstanding desire to work together and build a world-class company. In 2015, John and Christopher raised $23M and negotiated a worldwide, exclusive license agreement with Amgen for the Onyx immunoproteasome inhibitor patent estate. Now underway, John and Christopher are excited to leverage their complementary skill sets to build Kezar into a leader in small molecule drug development.
Sunovian is a Fort Lee, NJ-based company in the Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals, and Biotech sector.
Diagenode is a leading global provider of complete solutions for epigenetics research, biological sample preparation, and diagnostics assays based in Liege, Belgium and NJ, USA. The company has developed a comprehensive approach to gain new insights into epigenetics studies. The company offers innovative Bioruptor® shearing and IP-Star® automation instruments, reagent kits, and high quality antibodies to streamline DNA methylation, ChIP, and ChIP-seq workflows. The company`s latest innovations include a unique, full automation system, the industry`s most validated antibodies, the Megaruptor shearing system for long fragment generation in sequencing, and epigenetics assay services.
Bamboo was formed to advance the work of Dr. Richard Jude Samulski, the Director of the Gene Therapy Center at the University of North Carolina (UNC), from the laboratory into human clinical trials where it could meet the requirements for drug approval. Dr. Samulski is a pioneer in the field of gene therapy. Over thirty (30) years ago, Dr. Samulski was the first person to realize the potential to use the adeno-associated virus (AAV) as a vehicle to replace a defective gene with a healthy gene. Since that time, he has re-engineered the naturally occurring virus to target delivery to certain tissues, de-target other tissues, and improve its safety. This has resulted in over twenty (20) patents related to the use of AAV for therapeutic uses. Dr. Samulski continues to lead innovation in the field of vector optimization and AAV re-engineering.