Colorado Bioscience Association Showcases the State's Most Promising Technologies Recently Funded by $2 Million Matching Grants Program.

DENVER -- Colorado research institutions have begun reaping the rewards of legislation allocating state funds for bioscience research. The announcement is made by Denise Brown, Executive Director of Colorado BioScience Association (CBSA), who says the grants stem from legislation initiated by CBSA in 2006.

HB 1360, sponsored by Representative Jim Reisberg (D-Greeley) and Senator Ron Tupa (D-Boulder), was signed into law by Governor Bill Owens last summer. The Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT), in turn, administered the grant process.

"The legislation appropriated $2 million for bioscience proof of concept work on technologies showing promise for commercialization," explains Rep. Reisberg. "Research institutions are eligible for up to $150,000 per grant. However, they must provide a one-to-one match for each funded project. We expect these projects will result in five to 10 new companies for our state in the years ahead."

The $2 million in state funds was awarded to the following 27 bioscience proof of concept projects at six Colorado universities and research institutions. Initial reports on these projects should begin by the end of 2007. Brief descriptions follow for each funded project. To read full summaries, click to the following pdf: http://301url.com/HB1360Summaries.

UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO 

* New treatment for ineffectively treated schizophrenia patients:

This project proposes to reformulate clozapine, a highly effective medication for schizophrenia, for central administration. Direct administration of clozapine will require substantially lower doses relative to oral administration to achieve a therapeutic effect and thereby reducing likelihood of side effects.

* Suppression of irradiation-induced salivary gland dysfunctionby IGF-1:

Standard therapy for head and neck cancer involves irradiation. A major side effect is destruction of the salivary gland resulting in dry mouth. Researchers propose to: (1) determine the therapeutic index of IGF-1 pretreatment for radiation therapy, (2) investigate alternative delivery, (3) determine long-term efficacy, and (4) explore other models.

* Device for laser fusion of septal tissue:

A prototype device will be created, tested and optimized for joining tissue in surgical procedures involving the nasal septum (the internal, mid-line of the nose). Tailoring a device for the particular application of septal laser fusion permits us to overcome barriers that have prevented others from creating an economical solution.

* Validation of SARS coronavirus antibody technology of influenza virus:

Researchers have developed a unique strategy that prepares antibodies to recognize the native helical conformation of the SARS coronavirus fusion protein and block virus entry into cells. This project proposes to use this same technology to develop a similar antibody to the influenza A virus fusion protein.

* Hydroquinone ansamysin prodrugs as novel anticancer Hsp90 inhibitors:

It is the researchers' hypothesis that prodrugs yielding hydroquinone ansamycins intracellularly may be effective Hsp90 inhibitors. This approach can be expanded to include other derivatives as the project proceeds and as the hypothesis is refined.

* Infusion of alpha-1-antitrypsin (ATT) to suppress Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 (HIV) replication in patients:

Current antiretroviral therapy for HIV is subject to the mutation-induced escape of drug-resistant HIV strains. Researchers plan to infuse AAT into volunteers infected with uncontrolled HIV in an attempt to suppress viral replication. These studies may lead to novel HIV treatment options and other uses.

* In vivo analysis of a cardiac and skeletal muscle stem cell activator:

Researchers have identified a compound that induces cardiac stem cell activation in vitro. Preliminary studies indicate the compound will signal cardiac stem cell activation leading to heart and skeletal muscle growth and repair in vivo. The project proposes testing the compound therapeutically to induce stem cell-mediated growth and repair of damaged heart muscle.

* Biomarker Enabled Development of PARP Inhibitors for Cancer Therapy:

Researchers believe their phosphospecific antibody test can become the preferred and perhaps only practical method for identifying responders to PARP inhibitors. The plan is to use this biomarker to enable drug development and facilitate FDA approval of PARP inhibitor therapy for cancers, including breast and ovarian cancer, and possibly prostate, pancreatic, melanoma, or throat cancers.

* A Novel biology targeted agent for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer:

This project will examine the potential of a new Axl inhibitor to increase apoptosis and decrease the invasive potential of lung cancer cells in vitro and to improve survival and/or tumor regression in an animal model of non-small cell lung cancer.

* Redox-Initiated Radical Chain Polymerization for the Detection and amplification of biological recognition events:

This project aims to couple a nucleic acid hybridization event, which provides specificity, with radical chain polymerization, as well as signal amplification. The ability to couple polymer growth with multiple DNA hybridization events would provide clinicians a rapid, inexpensive and sensitive diagnostic assay for early-stage lung cancer.

* Moving Bryostatin-1 from the lab to the clinic for the treatment of pulmonary hypertension:

Chronic hypoxic pulmonary hypertension (PHTN) is a major clinical problem, which afflicts millions of Americans. The proposed research will test the hypothesis that Bryostatin-1, alone or in combination with other emerging drug strategies, will exert striking protective and attenuating effects on the pulmonary circulation exposed to chronic hypoxia.

* New targeted drug for the treatment of lung cancer:

Researchers propose to administer systemically inactive peptide-linked doxazolidine, which will be activated by plasmin release at the site of tumor metastases. Thus, normal tissue will be exposed to the inactive pro-drug, while the tumor will be exposed selectively to the released, and highly toxic, cytoxin.

* Protein biomarkers to differentially diagnose follicular thyroid carcinoma and follicular thyroid adenoma:

Thyroid cancer is the most common endocrine malignancy. Researchers aim to develop a clinical assay that will provide sufficient diagnostic power to correctly distinguish FTC from FTA in a blood sample. Such an assay could save the healthcare system on the order of $250 million per year and prevent tens-of-thousands of unnecessary thyroidectomies.

COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY 

* Coherence-modulated molecular specific nonlinear optical microscopy

Successful application of this novel nonlinear microscope to infectious Prion detection may enable low-cost and rapid screening for Mad Cow disease, ensuring the safety of the food supply and the viability of beef exports. There are no rapid diagnostic test assays currently available.

* Evaluation of a dynamic external cardiac device for the treatment of functional mitral valve regurgitation:

This simple device is to be surgically implanted around the heart to address tethering of the papillary muscle and left ventricular dilation, the most important causes of FMVR. If this device proves successful it may offer a minimally invasive way to correct FMVR and improve the survival prognosis for patients with this disease.

* A Development proposal for and instrumented cervical intervertebral disc space distractor:

CSU's Dr. Christian Puttlitz has designed an improvement to the Caspar pin distractor which is used to open up the disc space during anterior cervical discectomy with fusion (ACDF), the most commonly used procedure to treat degenerative disc disease. This improved will be tested accordingly.

* Evaluation of lymphactic drainage and uptake following intracavitary chemotherapy administration for mammary carcinoma:

This project evaluates the sustained release of anticancer chemotherapy from a biodegradable polymer system that is placed in the surgical site during breast-sparing surgery for breast cancer. If proven successful, this may drive further development of polymer technology and be adapted to other cancers and non-cancer diseases that preferentially spread to the lymphatics.

* Phytodetectors: plants designed to be highly specific detectors of environmental pollutants

It is currently impractical to monitor large areas such as metropolitan areas, sports arenas, transportation hubs, shopping malls, and areas around chemical plants for threats from terrorists or the presence of environmental pollutants. Researchers have produced plants with a high specificity to sense substances such as explosives. This project proposes to evaluate this technology.

NATIONAL JEWISH MEDICAL AND RESEARCH CENTER 

* Use of soluble gamma/delta t-cell receptors in reducing inflammatory damage:

This project hypothesizes that injecting a soluble T-cell receptor into a mouse can reduce inflammatory damage caused by a bacterial infection by binding to and soaking up all the molecules that would normally activate inflammation-promoting gamma/delta T cells. The bioscience grant will allow testing of this process.

* Development of Novel Therapies to Treat Chronic Lung Disease:

Researchers have identified two compounds that stimulate glutathione production in cultured cells. This project hypothesizes that these compounds can be used to increase glutathione levels in the lungs, which will decrease the inflammation and provide a novel therapeutic approach to treating various lung diseases. The grant will allow testing in a mouse model.

* Heat shock proteins modify lung allergic inflammatory responses:

Allergic diseases, including asthma, are believed to be the result of an imbalanced immune response, skewed away from what is known as Th1 in favor of a Th2 response. This study proposes to show that administration of one heat shock protein can reduce allergic reactions in a mouse model of allergic asthma by shifting the immune response away from Th2 toward Th1.

* Inhaled and t-cell-receptor antibodies for the treatment of airway hyper-responsiveness and inflammation:

Researchers have found that antibodies, which cause certain asthma related T cells to commit suicide, also function when they are inhaled. In this way, only T cells in the lungs and airways are affected, leaving an organism's disease-fighting ability intact. This grant will extend testing from mice to a nonhuman primate animal model.

* A method for the Prevention and treatment of pseudomonas biofilm infections:

Infections by the bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa are serious and often life-threatening events. The infection becomes particularly difficult, or impossible, to treat when the bacteria forms a biofilm. Researchers have discovered a class of non-toxic compounds that appears to disrupt and even prevent the formation of Pseudomonas biofilms in the laboratory. This project will evaluate and test these compounds.

BELLE BONFILS BLOOD CENTER

* Transfusion related acute lung injury identification test kit (neutrophil priming activity):

Increases in overall transfusions have led to an increase in adverse transfusion events, some of them fatal. This research will create a test kit used on a national and international level by physicians needing to determine if their patients are suffering from Transfusion Related Acute Lung Injury, currently the number one cause of death-related transfusions.

UNIVERSITY OF DENVER 

* Gait monitor for fall prevention business plan:

Researchers are working on development of a gait monitor for commercialization in Colorado. Currently, a small, lightweight and non-intrusive gait monitor for fall prevention does not exist on the market. This device is not limited to orthopedic applications, but more directly at helping elderly avoid falls and predict illness.

* Encoding and screening of solution phase combinatorial libraries for drug candidates:

Researchers of this project have developed and demonstrated a new method of screening of solution phase combinatorial libraries (SPCL). SPCL technology creates a library of drug candidates, each of which is uniquely identified by a chemical tag. This technique has significant advantages over conventional screening techniques, with no known deficiencies.

UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN COLORADO 

* New compounds from snake venoms: a proteomics approach toward the development of drugs from toxins:

The applications of protein drugs are rapidly growing and are projected to continue growing in the foreseeable future. Snake venoms have long been recognized as sources of actual and potential drugs and are complex mixtures consisting primarily of proteins. Through this grant, there is high probability of discovering valuable new compounds with therapeutic and/or biomedical applications.

About the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade

OEDIT works with companies starting, expanding, or relocating in Colorado. OEDIT offers a wide range of services to assist new and existing business of every size. Visit http://www.AdvanceColorado.com.

About Colorado BioScience Association

CBSA is a not-for-profit corporation providing services and support for Colorado's growing biosciences industry. With more than 300 members, CBSA actively works to promote the growth of the industry by working for a better business environment, growing the state's biotech workforce, fighting for policies that support a strong bioscience industry in the state and speaking with a single voice on behalf of the industry. For more information, visit http://www.cobioscience.com.