Carol Rae - Pioneering New Bio-Therapies

Carol Rae Pioneering New Bio-therapies

If you live in the Black Hills, Carol Rae is a name you probably already know.

She grew up in Rapid City—and after 25 years of career development and living in many places—she returned to be near her father, Glen Ghere, following her mother Marie’s death in 1985. Since there’s no place like home, she relocated to Rapid City permanently in 1988.

You may know Rae from her time as CEO for Magnum Diamond, a medical device company serving the ophthalmic industry which employed 72 people in the Black Hills. During her time as CEO for Magnum Diamond, she was first runner-up as National Small Business Person of the Year in 1993. She went on to become Corporate Director for Homestake Mining, Fountain Pharmaceuticals, and the VanKoevering Company. You may also know her from the time she served on the Rapid City Chamber of Commerce Board or the 6 years she spent on the US Chamber of Commerce Board. Or, you may know Rae because of her current venture, founder and CEO of ImmutriX Therapeutics, Inc.

The path that led Rae to ImmutriX was a winding and tragic one. Rae and her husband, Dave Olsen, a commercial real estate broker, were enjoying life on their small ranch, “We’re avid outdoors and ranch-life enthusiasts, and we competed in the sport of mounted shooting, for many years,” Rae explained. But the luxury of travel and competition came to an end when their daughter, Jill—then only 36 years old—was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer in 2005.

“All the focus was put on Jill’s care,” said Rae, “and the family explored viable alternatives to chemotherapy and radiation.”

Following a surgical procedure at Karolinska Oncology Center in Stockholm, Sweden, Jill’s follow-up choice of treatment was an extracorporeal treatment of apheresis and plasma exchange which she underwent in Germany.

“That was the beginning of a journey that led to what ImmutriX is developing today,” said Rae. “Jill survived her brain cancer for another 7 ½ years. During that time, my son, Jeff Barnes, and I began the early work that evolved to developing a broad range of extracorporeal treatments for patients whose needs are unmet with traditional pharmaceutical or surgical approaches.”

Jill passed away in August of 2012, shortly before ImmutriX Therapeutics’ first pre-clinical studies were complete. The data and outcomes of those studies, conducted at Texas Tech University, were so compelling, that Rae—along with others invested in the project— continued to pursue and develop a proprietary medical device.

As it exists today, the ImmutriX Therapeutics system consists of a proprietary extracorporeal column (or cartridge) containing patented formulated adsorbents to remove harmful intoxicants, pathogens, cytokines, chemokines and other blood substances by design. In other words, it cleanses the blood as a therapeutic treatment option.

“We’re striving to innovate, to improve, and to complement standard of care practices in medicine— while improving the lifestyle for patients needing treatment,” said Rae. “It is intended to provide new cost-effective treatments while increasing access on a global basis to offset current challenges resulting from antibiotic resistance, barriers of pharmaceutical drug costs, and side effects of drugs.”

The company believes it can overcome these challenges based on the premise of using medical applications to facilitate the body’s natural mechanisms to fight disease. By removing molecules from blood that are contrary to health instead of putting something into the body to treat symptoms, such as pharmaceutical drugs, the extracorporeal treatments are expected to reduce side effects, relieve symptoms and provide quality of life conditions for patients with various disease conditions.

ImmutriX Therapeutics is also developing its LoJic blood pumping system, which integrates its extracorporeal disposable columns. “We want to offer a complete system, which provides cost effective tools to smaller clinics and hospitals,” said Rae. ImmutriX’ offerings will also include educational programs to train, certify and audit all who are involved in the patient care process using the LoJic extracorporeal system.

Currently, ImmutriX Therapeutics is in midstage development, and has established an impressive list of milestone achievements such as raising private funding in excess of $20 million. Medical applications for both veterinary and human medical treatments have or are being tested in animals with compelling data being compiled for FDA review for safety. Efficacy studies are being planned with the engagement of NAMSA, a medical research organization, that will submit and advocate on behalf of the company before the FDA and run human clinical trials. Veterinary sales launched in September 2019 under the trade name, Aimalogic.

“The veterinary market is expected to be the source of early revenue this year, as sales and marketing efforts are underway,” said Rae.

As CEO of ImmutriX Therapeutics, Rae has seen the company go through many evolutions already. For instance, in 2016, the company switched gears from a supplier-dependent operation to the development of its own materials and processes.

South Dakota Entrepreneur of the Year in 2017

“Luckily, the manufacturing processes soon validated industrial applications for its technology in addition to the medical applications for which the company was founded,” explained Rae. The company now has 46 patent applications, six of which have issued in the U.S., Europe and other jurisdictions. The remainder are pending.

ImmutriX Therapeutics facility in Rapid City

The company now has 34 employees and has attracted scientists and medical experts from around the world as employees and advisors. Many are master’s and Ph.D level graduates in chemical, electrical and mechanical engineering.

“The South Dakota School of Mines is a recruiting haven for the company, as the students are not only exceptionally educated in science and engineering but have the work ethic and preparation to jump into the industry after graduation,” said Rae.

Rae’s work with ImmutriX Therapeutics earned her the honor of South Dakota Entrepreneur of the Year in 2017—a title she proudly shares with her esteemed employees. She is also proud of her family, which keeps her busy. “We have five great grandchildren under three years of age!”

Oven room at ImmutriX Therapeutics

Even if this is the first time you’ve heard of Carol Rae, you’ll likely hear her name again in the future, as ImmutriX Therapeutics continues to develop medical applications to assist with very serious situations—opioid and drug overdoses, autoimmune diseases, chronic diseases, cancer, metabolic conditions, and more. Rae is fighting the good fight for those who need it most. BHB