College News Briefs
STC Start-up Avisa Pharma™ Enters Into Agreement to License UNM Cystic Fibrosis
Technology
STC.UNM (STC), the technology-transfer arm of the University of New Mexico (UNM), has signed an exclusive option agreement with STC start-up, Avisa Pharma™ to license cystic fibrosis (CF) technology developed by Avisa Co-Founder, Dr. Graham Timmins, Associate Professor - UNM College of Pharmacy Dept. of Pharmaceutical Sciences, and colleagues from UNM’s School of Medicine. The company’s goal is to develop the technology into a diagnostic tool for the rapid monitoring of lung Pseudomonas infection and its response to antibiotic treatment in diseases such as CF. In addition to the CF related technology, Avisa has also entered into an agreement to exclusively license similar technology for Tuberculosis (TB). Both the CF and TB technologies are supported by issued patents.
CF patients have a genetic defect causing excessive thick mucus in their lungs
that leads to chronic lung
infections. Currently, no fast,
effective test is available to monitor lung microbiology and response to therapy
in CF, yet being able to do this could greatly benefit people with CF.
Avisa’s vision is to develop a diagnostic tool for Pseudomonas that would
significantly improve CF management.
Dr. Timmins’s technology assesses the bacterial load in the entire lung by measuring exhaled labeled carbon dioxide that is produced by the bacterial metabolism of inhaled AV-U13, a pharmaceutical grade, synthetic urea labeled with 13C. 13C is a stable non-radioactive isotope of carbon. Inhaled AV-U13 is metabolized in the lung by P. aeruginosa to 13CO2, which is then exhaled and easily and sensitively measured. The amount of 13CO2 exhaled is a function of the amount of infection in the lung.
This approach to testing
exhaled breath for stable isotopes to measure bacterial colonization has been
successfully used for detecting and treating H. pylori in patients with ulcers.
“Stable isotope breath testing has been a real game changer in the rapid
detection and management of H. pylori infection; we want to do the same for CF.”
Lisa Kuuttila, STC President & CEO, stated:
“We are very excited about this important technology being commercialized
for the benefit of cystic fibrosis patients. It is an excellent example of the
translation of UNM research into the clinic.”
David S. Joseph, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Avisa, added:
“We chose the company’s name, Avisa,
from avisar, meaning ‘to warn’ in Spanish,
and we believe that this early warning system can transform the way we
manage this disease where the average lifespan is 37 years of age.”
The
University of New Mexico’s Doctor of Pharmacy program is
accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education,
20 North Clark Street, Suite 2500, Chicago, IL 60602-5109, TEL
(312) 664-3575 , FAX (312) 664-4652,
URL
http://www.acpe-accredit.org/
02/15/2011 12:05:57 PM -0700.