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Siuta Consulting has been retained by the Arizona Biomedical Research Commission (for technologies arising out of state sponsored research at Arizona State University and The University of Arizona), the University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey, Rutgers University and NEOS (the only private technology transfer firm in Chile that represents technology development of universities, industry and private researchers) to identify partners within the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries for the following specific technologies. An Executive Summary for each technology can be viewed by clicking on the title of the invention. In most cases, additional non-confidential information is available upon request and confidential information can be provided after execution of a Confidentiality Agreement. Use the e-mail link to the specific technology to request additional information.

Therapeutic Peptides for the Treatment of Metastatic Breast Cancer: Dr. Joyce A. Schroeder in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology in the Arizona Cancer Center at The University of Arizona has demonstrated that targeting disease-specific protein interactions through the use of mimetic peptides can effectively treat metastatic breast cancer. This represents a novel approach in molecular targeted therapies. During cancer progression, MUC1, an oncogenic transmembrane protein, is overexpressed and interacts with the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and β-catenin in a tumor-specific manner, resulting in enhanced oncogenic activity. The MUC1 cytoplasmic domain is composed of 72 amino acids, within which lies a 15 amino acid domain containing sites of EGFR phosphorylation and β-catenin binding. Dr. Schroeder found that targeting this interaction domain of MUC1 for both EGFR and β-catenin through the utilization of MUC1 dominant-negative peptides could significantly affect breast cancer progression. Request additional information.

Novel Inducers of Apoptosis: Dr. Seth D. Rose in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Arizona State University has developed a strategy to advantageously alter the cancer cell proteome to kill cancer cells by inducing a natural cell death process as well as fighting drug resistance. Dr. Rose’s strategy is twofold: (1) irreversibly inhibiting enzymes involved in cell division, and (2) preventing drug efflux pumps from removing the drug from the cell to restore enzyme activity. This strategy offers a truly new approach for the development of chemotherapeutic agents for effective inhibition of cancer cell growth. Several novel compounds have been synthesized and tested in vitro against more than 60 human cancer cell lines. The lead compound, RG-66, was found to be active against several cell lines (pancreatic, leukemia, colon, central nervous system, ovarian, and breast) at concentrations below 10 nanomolar. Xenograft testing is in progress and results should be available shortly. Request additional information.

CCH-A, A New Hemocyanin Subunit with Increased Immunostimulating Properties: Drs. Alfredo Emilio De Ioannes and Maria Ines Becker in the Laboratory of Immunology, Department of Research and Development, BIOSONDA Corporation in Santiago, Chile (being licensed through NEOS) have identified a novel subunit of hemocyanin that was isolated from the marine gastropod Concholepas concholepas. This subunit, designated CCH-A (Concholepas concholepas hemocyanin subunit A), has potential applications as an immunostimulating agent in the innate or adaptive immune response or as an immunotherapeutic agent for the treatment of various cancers including melanoma, bladder, mammary and ovarian. Request additional information.

Novel Leukotoxin for the Treatment of Leukemia and Lymphoma: Dr. Scott C. Kachlany in the Department of Oral Biology at the University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey has identified a novel leukotoxin (LtxA) that is secreted in great abundance from a unique strain of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans and is found in the mouths of 15-20% of healthy individuals. This leukotoxin has potential therapeutic applications for the treatment of leukemia and lymphoma. Request additional information.

CDC42-Associated Kinase (ACK) as a Therapeutic Target for Ras-Induced Cancer: Dr. Shah A. Nur-E-Kamal, in the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey has validated CDC42-associated kinase (ACK) as an attractive therapeutic target for the discovery of new agents for the treatment of Ras-induced cancers such as brain, breast and prostate. Several early-stage lead compounds against this target have already been identified and structural optimization studies are in progress. Request additional information.

Induction of Apoptosis by Novel Diterpenes from the Soft Coral Xenia Elongata: Researchers at the Center for Marine Biotechnology, led by Drs. Paul Falkowski and Richard Lutz at Rutgers University have isolated four new diterpenes from the soft coral Xenia elongata. The molecular structures of all four compounds were determined by NMR spectroscopy in combination with mass spectral data analysis. The diterpenes were found to induce apoptosis in an apoptosis induction assay using genetically engineered cell lines at nanomolar concentrations. Transcriptional profiling with human breast cell lines reveals the pathway for inducing cell death is unique. Request additional information.

Peptide Aminoarylmethyl Conjugates of Cytotoxic Agents for Targeted Cancer Chemotherapy: Prof. Long Hu in the Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry at Rutgers University has prepared peptide conjugates of chemotherapeutic agents that are designed so that the chemotherapeutic agent is inactive until the conjugate is cleaved by a tumor-specific enzyme in close proximity to tumor tissues. This increases the selectivity of the chemotherapeutic agent in killing cancer cells while decreasing the adverse side effects elsewhere in the system. Request additional information.

Caffeine Sodium Benzoate – A Novel Agent for Inhibiting Sunlight-Induced Skin Cancer: Dr. Allan H. Conney in the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy at Rutgers University has found that topical administration of caffeine sodium benzoate can be used for the prevention of UVB light-induced skin cancer even after stopping exposure to the UVB light. Caffeine and caffeine sodium benzoate are the first examples of compounds that have both sunscreen activity and selectively enhance the killing of UVB damaged skin cells. This combination of effects may provide benefits beyond those observed for simple sunscreen agents; caffeine and caffeine sodium benzoate continue to work even after stopping exposure to the UVB light. Request additional information.

New Variants of Reverse Transcriptase Enzyme from HIV to be used in High-Throughput Protein Crystallography to Enhance Structure Based Drug Design: Using a systematic protein engineering approach, Professor Eddy Arnold and colleagues in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Rutgers University have developed new variants of the reverse transcriptase (RT) enzyme from HIV. These engineered proteins offer opportunities to carry out efficient and expeditious iterative co-crystallization experiments that will facilitate drug design and lead optimization processes for the discovery of novel drugs targeting HIV-1 RT (both polymerase and RNase H inhibitors) for the treatment of HIV infection. Request additional information.

Novel Type I Interferon Antagonists: Dr. Jerome A. Langer in the Department of Molecular Genetics, Microbiology & Immunology at the University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey has produced variants of interferon that block the action of active Type I interferons. These Type I interferon antagonists may have therapeutic potential for the treatment of autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus and Sjögren’s syndrome. Request additional information.

Glucono Delta-Lactone as an Effective Anticoagulant/Anti-Inflammatory Agent: Glucono delta-lactone (GDL) is a stable, low molecular weight, natural product that is often used as an anti-oxidant and anti-microbial agent in the preparation of foods and cosmetics. Dr. Charles R Spillert, Associate Professor of Surgery in the New Jersey Medical School at the University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey has found that GDL has both anticoagulant and anti-inflammatory properties. Request additional information.

Erythropoietin-Derived Short Peptides for the Treatment of Central and Peripheral Nervous System Diseases: Drs. Rui Rong Yuan and Peter C. Dowling in the Veterans Administration Medical Center at the University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey have discovered novel stabilized erythropoietin (EPO) derived short peptides that have been shown in vivo to protect against tissue damage in mouse models of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), acute stroke, acute spinal cord injury and brain injury by reversing and/or reducing the manifestations of the associated disease. They have potential for direct clinical application in the treatment of central and peripheral nervous system diseases associated with injury including demyelinating diseases, traumatic injury and stroke. Request additional information.

Methods and Compositions for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Schizophrenia: Prof. Linda Brzustowicz, Professor of Genetics at Rutgers University, has identified a novel isoform of the protein CAPON (recently renamed NOS1AP), termed CAPON-S, that was found to be overexpressed in the brain tissue of neuropsychiatric patients. CAPON-S can be used as a diagnostic tool to identify patients with an increased risk for schizophrenia as well as a drug discovery tool to find new therapeutic agents for the treatment of schizophrenia. Request additional information.

Screening Tools for Discovery of Novel Therapeutic Agents to Treat Cognitive Disorders: In many learning and memory disorders, such as autism, Rett syndrome, Down syndrome, Fetal Alcohol syndrome and Alzheimer’s disease, patients show a reduced number of dendrite branches. Prof. Bonnie Firestein and members of her laboratory in the Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience at Rutgers University have identified two proteins that regulate dendrite branching and can therefore be used as targets for the discovery of new agents to treat these cognitive disorders. Request additional information.

Radial Glial Cells Promote Nerve Regeneration and Functional Recovery Following Spinal Cord Injury: Dr. Martin Grumet in the Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience at the W. M. Keck Center for Collaborative Neuroscience at Rutgers University has devised a method to prepare an enriched population of radial glial cells that have been shown in vivo to promote neuronal regeneration in a model of spinal cord injury. Based upon this technology, it may now be possible to create such cells from human embryonic stem cells and apply them for the treatment of human CNS diseases and injury. Request additional information.

Alginate Poly-L-Lysine Encapsulation as a Technology for Controlled Differentiation of Embryonic Stem Cells: Drs. Martin Yarmush and Tim Maguire in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Rutgers University have developed a murine embryonic stem cell alginate poly-L-lysine microencapsulation hepatocyte differentiation system that maintains cell viability, is conducive to embryonic stem cell differentiation and maintains differentiated cellular function. This system may help to provide a renewable hepatocyte cell source needed for a variety of clinical and pharmaceutical applications. Request additional information.

S-Nitrosoacetylpenicillamine (SNAP) Induced Maturation of Embryonic Stem Cell Derived Liver Lineage: Dr. Martin Yarmush and Dr. Eric Novik in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Rutgers University have utilized previously reported primary stem cell differentiation systems to generate liver lineage cells. These cells are then plated into a collagen sandwich configuration and supplemented with a morphogen, S-nitrosoacetylpenicillamine (SNAP) to induce maturation and maintenance of liver function in embryonic stem cell derived liver lineage cells. This technique confers the following benefits: 1) the system can maintain liver function of differentiated stem cells for extended periods of time; and 2) the cells have more function than previously reported results. Request additional information.

Spray-On Wound Dressing: Prof. Patrick J. Sinko in the Department of Pharmaceutics, Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy at Rutgers University has developed a novel and easy to use hydrogel-based technology for wound healing and/or topical application of therapeutics. Request additional information.

Gene Silencing with U1 Adaptors: Dr. Samuel I Gunderson in the Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry at Rutgers University has developed an oligonucleotide-based method to reduce gene expression by inhibiting 3'-end formation during mRNA biosynthesis. This method, called the “U1 adaptor”, can be used as a research tool to determine gene function and to validate gene targets. Gene silencing molecules also have potential prophylactic and therapeutic applications based upon ongoing clinical trials using RNAi-based (siRNA) approaches. Request additional information.

Biomarkers for Breast Cancer: Dr. Kiran Madura in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey has identified several protein biomarkers in tumor tissue of patients with breast cancer. The expression levels of these proteins are strongly correlated with the incidence of breast cancer. Because the levels of multiple proteins can be simultaneously examined, the veracity of the readout is correspondingly strengthened. Studies are underway in collaboration with a clinical oncologist to compare blood and tissue obtained from breast cancer patients to determine whether the same biomarkers can be detected in blood. These biomarkers that have potential application: (1) for the early diagnosis of breast cancer; (2) to discriminate between different types and stages of breast cancer; and (3) for monitoring breast cancer patients who are undergoing therapy. Request additional information.

A Novel Biomarker for Diagnosis of Ulcerative Colitis and Colon Cancer: Dr. Kiron Das, Chief of Gastroenterology, Professor of Medicine, and the Director of the Crohn’s Disease and Colitis Center of New Jersey, Center of Excellence, at the University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey has identified a novel biomarker that predominates in human colon carcinoma and can be used for screening and detection of patients at risk of developing colon cancer, other colon related diseases, and ulcerative colitis. Request additional information.

A Monoclonal Antibody for Screening and Diagnosis of Precancerous Conditions of the Stomach: Dr. Kiron Das, Chief of Gastroenterology, Professor of Medicine, and the Director of the Crohn’s Disease and Colitis Center of New Jersey, Center of Excellence, at the University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey has identified a monoclonal antibody, Das-1, that reacts specifically to a colonic epithelium protein called the colon epithelial specific protein (CEP) that can be used for screening and diagnosing patients with precancerous gastric intestinal metaplasia. Request additional information.