BioVentures company gets $3m to test treatment.InfleXion Therapeutics LLC, a company started in the biomedical business incubator at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) is part of the University of Arkansas System, a state-run university in the U.S. state of Arkansas. The main campus is located in Little Rock. in Little Rock, has received a $3 million grant to conduct clinical trials for the first antibody treatment for addiction to phencyclidine phencyclidine /phen·cy·cli·dine/ (PCP) (fen-si´kli-den) a potent veterinary analgesic and anesthetic, used as a drug of abuse in the form of the hydrochloride salt; its abuse by humans may lead to serious psychological disturbances. , or PCP PCPabbr. 1. phencyclidine 2. primary care physician Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) . The grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is a United States federal-government research institute whose mission is to "lead the Nation in bringing the power of science to bear on drug abuse and addiction. of the National Institutes of Health will provide funding for five years to obtain Food and Drug Administration approval and conduct clinical trials on a protein-based therapy that might blunt the effects of PCP. "Drug abuse is one of the nation's most serious health problems and has very few treatments," said Michael Owens, director of the UAMS Center for Alcohol and Drug Abuse and a professor in the department of pharmacology and toxicology in the UAMS College of Medicine. Owens invented the treatment. He and three partners formed InfleXion Therapeutics in the BioVentures business incubator to develop a process of customizing antibodies to block the effects of PCP or methamphetamine on the brain. Through BioVentures, UAMS provides resources and is an equity partner in the company. Owens joined Brooks Gentry, an associate professor of anesthesiology, pharmacology and toxicology at UAMS; Ralph Henry, an associate professor of biology at the University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas strives to be known as a "nationally competitive, student-centered research university serving Arkansas and the world." The school recently completed its "Campaign for the 21st Century," in which the university raised more than $1 billion for the school, used at Fayetteville; and Barry Holtz, the president and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of InfleXion, who was previously a senior vice president for the biopharmaceutical firm Large Scale Biology Corp. of California, to start InfleXion in early 2004. Owens is the chief science officer; Gentry is the chief medical officer and Henry serves as a company vice president. |
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