Elevating Oklahoma’s bioscience industry

UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA ELEVATES THE STATE’S BIOSCIENCE INDUSTRY

University of Oklahoma researchers develop life-changing technologies

The 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.

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).

Biolytx Pharmaceuticals was founded by and is based on research by Anne Pereira, Ph.D. Biolytx is a drug development company confronting the crisis in antibiotic drug resistance through the advancement of a suite of antimicrobial peptide drug candidates.

Excitant Therapeutics is a start-up company based on an interdisciplinary effort of Adam Duerfeldt, Ph.D., Jian-Xing Ma, M.D., Ph.D., and Henry Shin, Ph.D. Excitant secured two Phase I SBIR awards in 2020 and is focused on developing novel therapeutic agents for ophthalmic diseases.

Infectious disease expertise and commercial successes arising from the OU College of Medicine include Rodney Tweten, Ph.D., Jimmy Ballard, Ph.D., and David Dyer, Ph.D.

Dr. Tweten has identified a mutant pneumolysin vaccine candidate that is licensed for commercial development.

Also in preclinical development are Dr. Ballard’s Clostridium difficile toxoid and numerous human disease pathogens identified by Dr. Dyer.

Mobile Health Platform technology for the creation of applications with real time interventions capabilities to aide in behavioral modifications from the Stephenson Cancer Center’s Oklahoma Tobacco Research Center

Dr. Michael Businelle and his TSET team lead the mHealth Core and have created an easy-to-use efficient platform, Insight, that allows for the creation of mobile applications by researchers or others interested in studying, tracking and improving behavior changes such as smoking cessation.

In partnership with University of Oklahoma, OU Health offers the state’s only comprehensive academic health system of hospitals, clinics, and centers of excellence focused on clinical and research efforts including cancer, vision, and diabetes.

OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center (SCC) is a national leader in cancer clinical research and has earned National Cancer Institute (NCI) designation. The SCC was named Oklahoma’s top facility for cancer care by U.S. News & World Report in its 2020-2021 rankings. SCC advances cancer care through transformative research and early-phase clinical trials – bringing the latest scientific breakthroughs to the bedside.

Dean McGee Eye Institute provides clinical services in addition to its specific areas of research expertise, which include diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration, and dystrophies. The institute’s ophthalmology program was ranked in the nation’s top programs for clinical care, teaching, and research in 2019 by Ophthalmology Times. The Dean McGee Eye Institute provides more than $1 million in eye care services to needy Oklahomans each year.

OU Health Harold Hamm Diabetes Center is among the world’s largest and most comprehensive institutions of its kind, bringing in more than $100 million in outside grant funding over the last decade. Research programs focus on the developmental origins of diabetes and obesity, examining how maternal nutrition and metabolic pathways established in the infant during the first 1,000 days of life can interrupt the transmission of diabetes and obesity in the next generation. At the other end of the life spectrum, research is aimed at causes and complications of diabetes to help identify better prevention and treatment strategies.

For additional information about research endeavors and technologies available for licensing from OU Health Sciences Center, contact the Office of Research Administration at (405) 271-2090 http://research.ouhsc.edu,

or the Office of Technology Commercialization (405) 271-7725 www.ou.edu/otc.

Dean McGee Eye Institute

OU Health Harold Hamm Diabetes Center

www.ouhsc.org