TECHNOLOGY Showcase
UT Southwestern Medical Center startup AIMs for success
UT Austin battery tech positive for economy and environment UT Austin is partnering with Hydro-Quebec, Canada’s largest electricity generator and the world’s largest hydroelectricity
Chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
generator, to commercialize new
(COPD), Alzheimer’s, cancer — the more intractable the disease
lithium-ion rechargeable batteries
the greater the need for breakthrough medicines. Translating
developed by Dr. John B.
innovative science into such medicine is what UT Southwestern
Goodenough, Professor and
startup Reata Pharmaceuticals is on a mission to do.
Virginia H. Cockrell Centennial Chair in Engineering.
Founded in 2002, Reata is developing a portfolio of oral drugs that mimic the body’s natural mechanisms for regulating
Recipient of the 2009 Enrico
inflammation. These new drugs, called antioxidant inflammation
Fermi Award and 2001 Japan Prize,
modulators (AIMs), target the Nrf2 protein that protects against
Goodenough’s research led to
inflammation and oxidative stress.
lighter, longer-lasting batteries. In addition to being inexpensive and
By activating Nrf2, AIMs help promote the production of a wide
capable of thousands of charge
range of antioxidant, detoxification and anti-inflammatory genes,
cycles without capacity loss,
helping the body to more aggressively defend itself from a host
Goodenough’s technology provides
of difficult to treat chronic inflammatory diseases.
a safe and environmentally friendly solution for transportation
Reata’s most advanced AIM has proven extremely effective in
and storage applications, and is
combating chronic kidney disease, a condition that affects over
expected to have an enormous
26 million Americans. Now in a pivotal Phase III trial, the hope is
impact on the U.S. economy.
that the drug can be developed into a therapeutic agent that can
The partnership includes down-
reverse the effects of diabetic
stream royalties and represents
kidney disease.
the UT Austin’s largest ever up front payment.
Since incorporation, Reata has raised $215 million in private financing, the majority of which has come from investors in Texas.
UTMB grants worldwide license for cannula technology
In 2010, it secured business development funding worth over
The UT Medical Branch-Galveston
$1 billion, comprised in part of
granted a worldwide exclusive
funds from a co-development deal
license to Avalon Laboratories for a
with Abbott Laboratories, which
novel double lumen extracorporeal
ranks as the largest agreement of Above: Reata’s bardoxolone methyl AIM is in final stages of testing while various
medical tube) developed by
Abbott was announced in 2011.
Joseph Zwischenberger, M.D. and Dongfang Wang, M.D. The
other AIM’s are still in pre-clinical trials. Image courtesy of Reata.
life support (ECLS) cannula (i.e.,
its kind in the history of the industry. A second agreement with
Reata is a prime example how a University of Texas System
new ECLS cannula can be placed
institution can transform discovery into major biotech advance-
into a vessel without surgical
ment, and ultimately help people suffering from debilitating
incision. It also provides total
disease.
respiratory support for ICU
More information can be found at www.utsouthwestern.edu and
external pump and oxygenator.
patients when coupled with an www.reatapharma.com. HORIZONS HORIZONS
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