Start-Up Previews (09/2010)
Executive Summary
A preview of the emerging health care companies profiled in the current issue of Start-Up. This month's profile group, "Biotechs Target Cancer Metabolism," features profiles of Advanced Cancer Therapeutics, Cornerstone Pharmaceuticals and Dynamix Pharmaceuticals. Plus these Start-Ups Across Health Care: AlloCure, ArisGen, HistoSonics and NeuraviBiotechnology.
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HistoSonics Inc.
Men who suffer from benign prostatic hyperplasia could soon have an alternative to surgery, if all goes well for HistoSonics Inc. The company is developing the Histotripsy system, an image-guided, robotic-manipulated procedure that uses ultrasound to excise and mechanically homogenize tissue without heat. HistoSonics believes its noninvasive office-based treatment option will be fast, effective, and cause fewer adverse effects than existing BPH treatments.
Neuravi Ltd.
Neuravi Ltd.’s thrombus capture and removal device for acute stroke patients is designed to disengage offending clots from the wall of brain arteries, and then scaffold the clot inside a microfiber net during removal from the patient. The company thinks its technology represents a major advancement for the treatment of stroke because currently available products do not offer an effective clot disengagement system.
Dynamix Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Optimization of a lead drug candidate often takes a few years, as companies assess hundreds and sometimes thousands of compounds, seeking just one with the best overall pharmacological profile. By contrast, Dynamix Pharmaceuticals Ltd. says its structure-based discovery approach dubbed DynamixFit has let the firm select lead molecules with less than 100 compounds synthesized in under two years. Dynamix aims to apply its techniques on two main tracks: first, to discover drug candidates that intervene with the metabolism of cancer cells; and second, to selectively target specific cellular signaling pathways mediated by Type II kinase inhibitors.