UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA ELEVATES THE STATE’S BIOSCIENCE INDUSTRY University of Oklahoma researchers develop life-changing technologies
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he University of Oklahoma is a dedicated contributor to the advancement of the state’s bioscience industry. With six professional colleges and the Graduate College located within the academic medical campus (OU Health Sciences Center), clinical and translational research programs, centers of excellence, and robust basic science programs, OU is proud to conduct life-changing research that economically benefits the state. A strong driving force for OU’s economic impact is the commercialization of intellectual property through licensing, partnering, and the creation of start-ups. The OU Office of Innovation and Corporate Partnerships together with the Office of Technology Commercialization assists researchers in transforming research innovation into tangible impact for the betterment of society. Researchers at the OU Health Sciences Center have produced several spin-out companies that have successfully partnered with the pharmaceutical industry. Three such companies are Pure Protein, Heparinex, and Choncept, which were all funded in large part by Austin-based Emergent Technologies, Inc. William Hildebrand, Ph.D., is founder and chief scientist for Pure Protein and its subsidiary, Pure MHC. Pure MHC, focused on disease-specific target identification and validation, partnered with AbbVie in 2017 to discover and validate peptide targets for use with T-cell receptor therapeutics in cancer. More recently, a key partnership between the OU Health Sciences Center and Pure MHC was formed to develop a vaccine for COVID-19 and position it for the marketplace. 22
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Heparinex and Choncept, two companies based on research from Paul DeAngelis, Ph.D., have also entered into commercial deals with large pharmaceutical companies. Caisson, a subsidiary of Heparinex, subsequently partnered s with Novo Nordisk and Corden Pharma to commercialize their HEPtune® platform technology. The OU Health Sciences Center has also participated in the research and development of a novel antibody therapeutic for sickle cell disease. Selexys Pharmaceuticals, Corp. developed the therapeutic through Phase 2 clinical trials and was then acquired by Novartis in 2016. Selexys spin-off, Tetherex Pharmaceuticals, continues to develop novel therapeutics targeting cell adhesion proteins in thrombotic, inflammatory, and oncologic diseases. Emerging biotech companies that continue forging the path for OU start-up companies include COARE, Moleculera Labs, Biolytx, and Excitant Therapeutics. Courtney Houchen, M.D., is founder and Chief Medical Adviser of COARE Biotechnology. COARE is a multidisciplinary drug development company that has several novel therapeutic technologies aimed at eradicating cancer system cells and associated metastatic processes. Moleculera Labs originated from the research of Madeleine Cunningham, Ph.D. Moleculera produces clinical assays for use in diagnosis of Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Streptococci (PANDAS) and Pediatric Acute-Onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS).
