i&E BIO Edition 2018

S P E C I A L E D I T I O N : O K L A H O M A’ S B I O S C I E N C E M A G A Z I N E • 2 0 1 8

GROWTH PLANS

CYTOVANCE BIOLOGICS EXPANDS ITS HORIZONS TO WORLDWIDE CLIENT BASE

ADVANCED WARNING PROGENTEC DIAGNOSTICS ADVANCES TECHNOLOGY TO PREDICT LUPUS FLARES

NOW HEAR THIS HOUGH EAR INSTITUTE PIONEERS NEW APPROACH TO RESTORE HEARING

LASER-FOCUSED RESEARCH STATE AGENCY PROGRAM SUPPORTS RESEARCHER’S QUEST TO DEVELOP CANCER THERAPEUTIC

SOONER TO MARKET UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA CREATES COMMERCIALIZATION PATHWAYS FOR INNOVATORS

INSIDE LIVE, WORK, PLAY 6 OKC Innovation District offers job growth and research discoveries LUPUS PREVENTION 8 OMRF researchers are attempting a firstever clinical trial aimed at preventing lupus SOONER TO MARKET 10 University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center a major contributor to research, state’s bioscience industry PATHWAYS FOR INNOVATION 12 For University of Oklahoma innovators, the road to commercialization is paved with tools and resources provided by the university.

GROWTH TRAJECTORY 14 Cytovance Biologics provides contract manufacturing services to bioscience researchers worldwide SWEET SCIENCE 15 Caisson Biotech’s heparosan polymers improve therapeutic delivery and performance TELL-TALE BIOMARKERS 15 Pure MHC uses human immune system to identify and target cancer, other devastating diseases NOW HEAR THIS 16 Hough Ear Institute pioneers new approach to restoring critical inner ear hair cells and reverse hearing loss A SMARTER GRID 17 Electric utility OG&E provides advanced technologies to ensure Oklahoma is on cutting edge of power generation and management NETWORKING OPPORTUNITY 19 Oklahoma’s OneNet provides high speed connections that facilitate worldwide collaborations for bioscience researchers MODEL OF INNOVATION 21 Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology supports groundbreaking research via diverse programs PREDICTING THE FLARE 25 Progentec Diagnostics advances technology that can predict lupus flares weeks in advance

innovators & Entrepreneurs is produced by i2E, Inc., manager of the Oklahoma Technology Commercialization Center.

For more information on any content contained herein, please contact i2E at 405.235.2305 © Copyright 2018 i2E, Inc. All rights reserved.

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OKBio SPONSORS Sustaining Sponsors Greater Oklahoma City Chamber Oklahoma Business Roundtable Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation University of Oklahoma- Office of Technology Development Presbyterian Health Foundation Supporting Sponsors Dean McGee Eye Institute Insurica Norman Economic Development Coalition OG&E Oklahoma Blood Institute Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology Oklahoma Health Center Foundation Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education OneNet University of Oklahoma Office of Public /Private partnerships University of Central Oklahoma Corporate Sponsors Accele BioPharma Agric Bioformatics ARL BioPharma, Inc. Avara Pharmaceuticals Blaney Tweedy and Tipton Charlesson COARE Biotechnology Crystal Laboratory Cytovance DNA Solutions Dunlap Codding Emergent Technologies Environmental Services Company, Inc. Essai Sciences EyeCRO Hough Ear Institute Immuno-Mycologics, Inc. Miles & Associates Moleculera Labs OKC Allergy Supply OMED Tech LLC PERFEQTA by Productive Technologies PolySkope Labs Ponca City Development Authority Pure MHC Purmabiologics Sensulin Sevengenes Sigma Blood Systems Tetherex Tribal Diagnostics Ultra Botanica ViewSolid Biotech

i2E TEAM The i2E management and staff is composed of professionals with extensive experience in technology commercialization, business development, venture investing, and finance.

Scott Meacham President & CEO Rex Smitherman Senior Vice President, Operations Sarah Seagraves Senior Vice President, Marketing

Mark Lauinger Senior Vice President, Client Services Ryan Cargill Vice President of Business Development Tom Francis Director of Funds Administration Judy Beech Director of Finance Carol Curtis

Venture Advisor & Director of Academic Research Assessment Richard Rainey

Venture Advisor & Director, SBRA Program Darcy Wilborn Client Engagement Director Melissa Kempkes Investment Portfolio Manager Cindy Henson Underwriting Coordinator & Investment Compliance Officer Katelynn Henderson Events Specialist Shaun O'Fair Underwriting Specialist Jennifer Buettner Executive Assistant Kate Nelson Administrative Assistant BOARD OF DIRECTORS Stephen Prescott Chairman OMRF

Brad Krieger Arvest Bank Philip Kurtz CareATC Hershel Lamirand III Capital Development Strategies

ABOUT i2E

Merl Lindstrom

WE INVEST IN ENTREPRENEURS TO BUILD SUCCESSFUL HIGH GROWTH OKLAHOMA COMPANIES

Fred Morgan The State Chamber David Pitts Bank SNB Ryan Posey HSI Sensing Teresa Rose Crook Communities Foundation of Oklahoma

Michael LaBrie Secretary McAfee & Taft

expertise and funding to more than 700 of Oklahoma’s emerging small businesses. With more than $60 million of investment capital

Claudia San Pedro Sonic Corporation

companies in all phases of the business life

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under management, we are focused on serving cycle, from startups looking for their first round of capital to established businesses seeking

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funding to expand their markets or products.

Brien Thorstenberg Tulsa Regional Chamber

We also help lead new business developments

Rose Washington Tulsa Economic Development Corporation

into the marketplace more efficiently and more quickly while providing guidance to bring more funding to Oklahoma’s researchers

Richard Williamson T.D. Williamson

and entrepreneurs.

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Through our proven business and venture

Leslie Batchelor PARTNERS Center for Economic Development Law The Oklahoma Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) Howard G. Barnett, Jr. OSU-Tulsa, OSU-CHS Cherokee Nation Chickasaw Nation Robert Brearton American Fidelity Assurance Company Choctaw Nation Jay Calhoun Greater Oklahoma City Chamber Love’s Travel Stops Apis Holdings Muscogee(Creek) Nation Michael Carolina Oklahoma Business Roundtable OCAST Oklahoma Center for the Advancement Steve Cropper of Science and Technology (OCAST) Carl Edwards Oklahoma Manufacturing Alliance Price Edwards Company Presbyterian Health Foundation Tom Evans U.S. Economic Development Administration Encompass Financial Services, Inc. Philip Eller Eller Detrich, P.C. Chris Fleming RECHO, LLC

development process, we turn ideas into successful enterprises ... i2E.

W H AT W E D O • Evaluate the market potential of new concepts • Assist with evaluation of business plans, marketing plans and raising capital • Provide guidance in building a management team, business structure and financial forecasting • Assist with developing an effective investor presentation • Assist in obtaining funding through federal grant programs • Work with research universities to encourage

Cheryl Hill Hill Manufacturing/Hill Equipment Danny Hilliard Chickasaw Nation Ronnie Irani RKI Energy Resources Joseph J. Ferretti University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center

recognized services have provided business

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Over our 20-year history, i2E’s nationally

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commercialization of research technologies • Provide equity investment

Welcome from Scott Meacham On behalf of the Oklahoma Bioscience Association and i2E, Inc., which manages OKBio for over 50 members across the state, welcome to the annual BIO edition of i&E magazine.

i2E is a not-for-profit corporation that provides investment, business advisory services and education for the Oklahoma entrepreneurial community. We currently manage more than $60 million of investment capital in new ventures across the state.

i&E Magazine, published by i2E, highlights Oklahoma’s emerging community of high growth ventures.

If you picked up a copy of this magazine at the annual BIO show, I invite you to take some time to browse through the entire edition and glimpse at some of the many Oklahoma developments ongoing in the life sciences. Oklahoma’s biosciences industry employs 51,000 people and contributes almost $7 billion annually to the state’s economy.

Our bioscience corridor stretches from Ardmore in the southern part of the state to Oklahoma City, to Stillwater, and on to Tulsa and Ponca City in the north. Along the way there are diverse academic institutions, companies, research foundations and economic development organizations all working together with a common goal of developing the state’s life sciences potential and advancing new therapeutics to treat some of the world’s most devastating diseases.

Notable past successes of Oklahoma-started companies have included exits at Novazyme Pharmaceuticals, Crescendo Bioscience and Selexys Pharmaceuticals.

The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (OUHSC) in Oklahoma City (page 10) is a major contributor to scientific advancement and the state’s biosciences industry. Seven colleges are located on one academic medical campus, along with multiple research programs and related entities such as the Stephenson Cancer Center, the Harold Hamm Diabetes Center, the Dean McGee Eye Institute, the Oklahoma Blood Institute and the University Research Park.

Also located on the OUHSC campus is the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (Page 8), a not-for-profit organization founded in 1946 that pursues ongoing research in critical disease areas such as lupus, multiple sclerosis, heart disease, cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.

Progentec Diagnostics (Page 25) is a promising Oklahoma Citybased company that spun out of OMRF research and is advancing novel ways to predict devastating lupus flares weeks or months in advance and more accurately diagnose the disease itself.

In this edition of i&E magazine, you can also read about Cytovance Biologics (Page 14), which provides contract manufacturing services for bioscience researchers worldwide. In addition, Hough Ear Institute and its commercialization partner, Otologic Pharmaceutics (Page 16), are advancing promising developments in hearing restoration.

There are many more highlights in this magazine to pique your interest in Oklahoma’s emerging biosciences industry. Read on.

– Scott Meacham President & CEO

Mere minutes from both the State Capitol and downtown’s thriving Central Business District, Oklahoma City’s budding innovation district is helping diversify Oklahoma City’s growing economy and bringing international acclaim to the city.

In fact, Oklahoma City was selected as one of only two test cities in the country for the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Initiative on Innovation and Placemaking – a project of the Brookings Institution and the Project for Public Spaces, which aims to integrate the reinforcing benefits of vibrant public spaces, innovative urban economies and inclusive growth.

At 843 acres the innovation district represents nearly 18,000 jobs. The majority of the jobs are in the bioscience sector and the growth has been staggering, with a 23 percent increase since 2003.

As this district continues to grow and prosper, it will serve as a catalyst to help create a diverse economic environment where innovation thrives.

Discoveries made by Oklahoma Citybased researchers are garnering international

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recognition and have helped put OKC on the map as a player in the bioscience and technology marketplace. The expansion of this industry is paying big dividends, contributing more than $6.7 billion in economic activity and supporting more than 51,000 jobs throughout Oklahoma.

Certainly, there’s no denying that exciting things are happening in and around this innovation district. And there are no signs of the progress slowing down anytime soon.

The 95,000-square-foot GE Global Research Center—which opened in 2016 and is now operated by Baker Hughes, a GE Company—further strengthens the attraction of the innovation district. This state of the art energy facility attracts scientists and research from around the world and presents a unique opportunity for energy and biomedical researchers working together.

“Oklahoma has developed into an epicenter of new technologies that enable new resources,” said Michael Ming, vice president executive liaison with Baker Hughes, A GE Company, said.

When studying Oklahoma City’s innovation district, the Brookings Institute noted strengths including the high concentration of innovation assets, a highly educated workforce and a collaborative regional culture. The innovation district, with its clear strengths and assets, focuses on an area that has a lot of potential to bring together a community, attract new companies and employees and enhance an area.

“You have energy and medical sectors that are right up next to each other in the district,” said Bruce Katz, founder of the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program. “Whoever figures out how to link up medical and energy is really going to benefit. You have one of the top names in the world, in energy, right in the heart of your medical district. It’s incredible.”

In recent years, the biggest names in the business have taken notice of Oklahoma City’s homegrown bioscience companies. Selexys Pharmaceuticals was acquired by Novartis and Cytovance entered a pact with OncoQuest to establish a reliable and stable supply of an

antibody drug which is used to treat ovarian cancer patients. Oklahoma Blood Institute launched “Bio-Linked,” a groundbreaking software system developed exclusively by OBI to match donors with the nation’s most promising medical research.

The Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, continues to make a profound impact on our community. With more than 300 scientific staff members, including some of the world’s foremost immunologists and cardiovascular biologists, OMRF has become one of the nation’s leading independent medical research institutes.

“Turning Oklahoma City into a pacesetting innovation hub leverages people across industries, institutions and functions to connect and generate new ideas and new enterprises and to more quickly and easily commercialize research which leads to new jobs and wealth creation.” said Scott Meacham, president and CEO of i2E, a nonprofit focused on growing innovative small businesses in Oklahoma and making a positive impact on the state’s economy.

Already a center of significance, the evolution toward commercialization began in 1998, when voters approved state questions 680 and 681 which allowed the Oklahoma State System of Higher Education to use public

property for private research and development of technology and also to own a stake in that technology. Today, dozens of biotechnology companies call this area home and areas of research span from cancer and cardiovascular to vision and infectious disease, among many others.

“The biomedical science environment in Oklahoma City has dramatically changed in the last 10 years,” said Dr. Dewayne Andrews, vice president of health affairs and executive dean of the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (OUHSC).

“All the changes have been very positive.”

When considering relocating to Oklahoma City, scientists first look at the research that they can do here.

They want to know the answers to questions like: Will they be thriving scientifically? Is the environment intellectually stimulating? Will they have the resources and funding they need to support their research? Are there opportunities for networking within their fields?

Those who work to recruit these scientists mention the quality of both the Oklahoma Health Center complex and the revitalization of Oklahoma City as strong selling points. And the answer to many of those questions is “yes.”

“Oklahoma City is expanding, and it is essential that our dreams for this community expand as well,” said Roy H. Williams, CCE,

president and CEO of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber. “Luckily, Oklahoma City is also a place for doers – a community of people who see dreams as a blueprint to reality. We are a city with a proven track record of making things happen, generation after generation. We are planting the seeds for a better future and the choices we make today could be the bragging rights of the next generation.”

These seeds include an area where innovation thrives in a growing Oklahoma City.

As new technologies continue to bring worldclass researchers and developers to the area, it also will be where some of the nation’s best minds gather to live, work and play. To learn more about the past, present and (very) bright future of the bioscience sector in Oklahoma City visit www.

GreatOklahomaCity.com/biostory.

www.okcchamber.com

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2018 BIO Highlights Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation

WORLD’S FIRST LUPUS PREVENTION STUDY

y the time a patient experiences symptoms of a disease, the body has already suffered extensive unseen damage. But what if there was a way to turn back the illness before it took hold?

That’s what Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation scientists are attempting to do with the first ever clinical trial aimed at preventing lupus.

Lupus is caused when the immune system becomes unbalanced, leading to the development of antibodies and chronic inflammation that damage the body’s organs and tissues. According to the Lupus Foundation of America, an estimated 1.5 million people in the U.S. are living with lupus, which primarily affects women.

The clinical study, known as the SMILE trial, seeks to identify individuals at high risk for developing the autoimmune disease. Using sophisticated bioanalysis, OMRF will pinpoint those at greatest risk for the disease and then treat them with an immune-modifying medication.

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Dr. Judith James is leading the trial, which is built on nearly a decade’s worth of research seeking to identify those most likely to develop the autoimmune illness. “For some time, our lab has been interested in understanding the first things that go wrong in the body that lead to lupus,” she says.

By studying relatives of lupus patients, James discovered that 89 percent of family members stayed healthy, while 11 percent developed the disease. Of those who transitioned to lupus, all displayed autoantibodies—inflammatory proteins that the body mistakenly unleashes against its own cells and tissues.

For the trial, James and her OMRF team will test participants for those specific autoantibodies in the blood. When individuals test positive, the researchers will place them on a test medication that has shown promise for easing lupus symptoms and possibly even preventing disease onset.

The trial is actively recruiting new participants at OMRF, which has been designated

by the National Institutes of Health as one of only 10 Autoimmunity Centers of Excellence in the U.S.

James says the ultimate goal is to prevent the disease altogether. But even if patients transition into lupus, they would have undergone early intervention and therapy, which should help mitigate damage and improve outcomes.

“As a physician, I find this trial incredibly important, because I have seen the damage and destruction that happens with lupus,” says James.

“Even when patients come to the doctor and get all the best medicines we currently have, the disease still leads to deformities, shortened lifespans and things we just can’t fix. Now, we may have the ability to dial this back and prevent people from moving into full-blown lupus.”

www.omrf.org

GSK, one of the world’s leading healthcare companies, selected OMRF for its Discovery Partnerships with Academia program.

Launched in 2011, DPAc develops novel medications by teaming leading academic scientists with GSK’s drug discovery expertise. At OMRF, Dr. Charles Esmon will lead efforts to create therapies for acute pancreatitis, lung injury and trauma.

OMRF helped lead a nine-year study that identified 24 new genes linked to lupus. The researchers analyzed 27,500 DNA samples from patients on three continents. Published in the journal Nature Communications, the study brings the total number of known lupus genes to 101, Dr. Patrick Gaffney along with other OMRF scientists having played a role in identifying or confirming 65 of those.

Led by Gabriel Pardo, OMRF’s Multiple Sclerosis Center of Excellence won the Labe Scheinberg Award at the 2017 Annual Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers.

The award recognizes research excellence in the field of MS neurorehabiliation.

OMRF won for its work in telerehabilitation, offering remote alternatives to traditional physical therapy for patients.

Dr. Lijun Xia found new clues about the origins of a bleeding disorder known as immune thrombocytopenic purpura, or ITP. The new findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA), could help scientists develop new treatments for the condition, which causes spontaneous bruising and can be life-threatening.

OMRF opened the state’s first germfree research facility in October. The idea is to start with a pristine setting in which lab mice are free of the trillions of microorganisms that ordinarily populate their bodies. Then scientists can introduce a single microbe or group of microorganisms and see how they affect the mice.

The Rheumatology Research Foundation presented Dr. Darise Farris with its Research Foundation Innovative Research Award. The award provides the OMRF scientist with a grant to research the origins of the Sjögren’s syndrome, a painful condition in which the immune system attacks the body’s moistureproducing glands, inhibiting the ability to produce tears or saliva.

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SOONER TO MARKET

OU Health Sciences Center Is Major Contributor to

Cancer Clinical Research, State’s Biosciences Industry

T

he University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (OUHSC) in Oklahoma City is a major contributor to scientific advancement and the state’s biosciences industry. With seven colleges situated on one academic medical campus, as well as robust basic science, clinical and translational research programs, OUHSC is proud to conduct life-changing research that also benefits the state economically.

The NCI designated Stephenson Cancer Center (SCC) at OUHSC has become a national leader in cancer clinical research. SCC currently leads the nation in the number of patients participating in National Cancer Institute-sponsored treatment trials offered through the National Clinical Trials Network. In addition, the SCC is in the top 10 nationally for the number of patients participating in early-phase clinical research trials.

In 1998, Oklahoma passed legislation that allows university research to be commercialized, and since that time, many OUHSC projects have been transformed into start-up companies.

Several of those companies have since attracted millions in funding, entered into significant agreements, or have been acquired by larger companies.

William Hildebrand, Ph.D., a researcher with the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the OU College of Medicine, is chief scientist for Pure Protein, which was launched in 1999 based on his research. A subsidiary of that company, Pure MHC, recently entered into a research and license agreement with pharmaceutical company AbbVie to discover and validate peptide targets for use with T-cell receptor therapeutics in several types of cancer.

– continued on next page

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Heparinex and Choncept, two other Oklahoma City companies based on research from Paul DeAngelis, Ph.D., and related to the novel recombinant synthesis of compounds, have also struck significant commercial deals with large pharmaceutical companies. Pure Protein, Heparanix and Choncept were all funded in large part by the private investment fund Emergent Technologies of Austin, Texas.

Another successful company based on science developed at OUHSC, Selexys Pharmaceuticals Corp., was acquired by Novartis in 2016. Selexys developed a novel antibody therapeutic for sickle cell disease.

Based on the results of a Phase 2 clinical trial, Novartis announced it would acquire Selexys and continue the development and commercialization of the therapeutic.

Moleculara Labs is another growing company that developed from the research of Madeline Cunningham, Ph.D., at OUHSC. Moleculera produces clinical assays used in the diagnosis of Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Streptococci (PANDAS) and Pediatric Acute-

Pathways to

T

he University of Oklahoma is a driving force in economic impact, providing tools and resources for commercializing innovation, and preparing the next generation of citizen leaders of our state and nation for success in a knowledge-based global society.

The Office of Public/Private Partnerships, part of the Tom Love Division of Entrepreneurship and Economic Development in OU’s Price College of Business, serves as the liaison between the university and economic development stakeholders. Focusing on the creation of new research and private-sector relationships, in 2016 the office was host to over 150 national and international guests during the Annual Association of University Research Parks International Conference.

Commercializing university research has a powerful impact. Successful start-ups add jobs, licenses create partnerships with global industry leaders, and new insights into healthcare improve and save lives. The Office of Technology Development, another office within the Tom Love Division of Entrepreneurship & Economic Development, helps innovation from the sharpest minds at OU transform into world-changing products.

The Office of Technology Development supports university researchers in protecting their intellectual property, and then works with industry to find the best path to the commercial marketplace. In the last 20 years, this office has evaluated more than 1,500 pieces of innovation, filed more than 2,200 patents, licensed 170 technologies, and launched 35 companies.

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Onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS).

OUHSC has multiple areas of research expertise. Rodney Tweten, Ph.D., a researcher in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the OU College of Medicine, in 2016 received the prestigious MERIT Award from the National Institutes of Health. The grant, which provides 10 years of uninterrupted funding, will further Tweten’s investigations into cholesterol-dependent cytolysins, considered the most widely disseminated toxins in bacteria. In addition, Tweten’s patented discoveries in the area of Streptacoccal pnuemoniae have been licensed by a vaccine company.

Another area of research expertise with recent commercial activity is with Jimmy Ballard, Ph.D., chairman of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the OU College of Medicine. Ballard studies toxins produced

by Clostridium difficile, and his patented Clostridium difficile toxoid has recently been optioned by a vaccine company.

The future looks bright for the OU Health Sciences Center and its commitment to the biosciences industry. The Office of the Vice

President for Research has launched Soonerto-Market, a program that leverages various resources to commercialize university discoveries faster. Campus leaders also have played a key role in helping to foster the Innovation District, the thriving area around the OU Health Sciences Center that is ripe for future development.

For additional information about research endeavors and technologies available for licensing, contact the Office of Research Administration at (405) 271-2090 http:// research.ouhsc.edu or the Office of Technology Development (405) 271-7725 www.otd.ou.edu.

IMPACT

Recent commercial successes such as the Selexys Pharmaceuticals Corp. acquisition

by Novartis and the Pure Protein research and license agreement with AbbVie have expanded opportunities for support to campus inventors, as well as enhanced opportunities for commercialization. An initiative to spark University innovation, the Office of Technology Development’s Growth Fund strengthens the commercial potential of University research and intellectual property by providing short-term funding for commercially-focused research and prototyping.

The University of Oklahoma has also created a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem, combining premier academic resources with hands-on learning opportunities to engage both students and the local community. The Tom Love Innovation Hub, a 20,000-squarefoot collaborative space devoted to innovation, houses a fabrication lab and data visualization center, as well as the Ronnie K. Irani Center for the Creation of Economic Wealth, an interdisciplinary experience for students to find solutions to real-world problems.

These are just a few of the many examples of OU’s on-going effort to create pathways for impact for innovation and in the support of biosciences research commercialization. To learn more about the university’s promising biosciences innovations or Entrepreneurship & Economic Development initiatives, contact the Office of Technology Development at ou.edu/otd or (405) 271-7725.

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CAISSON PROMOTES SAFE, EFFICIENT DRUG DELIVERY

• Increased half-lives • Improved drug loading, and increased functionality of ADC linkers

Oklahoma City-based Cytovance Biologics created some breaking news in January 2005 when as a new company it launched contract pharmaceutical manufacturing operations at what was then the Presbyterian Health Foundation Research Park. It claimed 10 employees.

Fast forward to 2018.

Cytovance is still breaking news about its operations. The company recently announced that it had completed the first production in a new state-of-theart 1,000-liter microbial facility.

Today, Cytovance employs 217 people, including 30 Ph.D. level scientists. It has grown into one of Oklahoma’s largest biotech companies, operating from five buildings that comprise 147,000 square feet of space on the renamed University Research Park campus and additional locations on the city’s near north side.

Clients from around the world contract with Cytovance to produce investigational new drugs for use in clinical trials. Those might be groundbreaking new therapeutics for cancer treatments, flu vaccines, cardiovascular disease, rheumatoid arthritis, immunotherapies and more.

Mike O’Mara, Cytovance’s senior vice president of Manufacturing Operations, compared a contract manufacturing operation (CMO) with producing a batch of cookies based on someone else’s recipe.

“They come to us with this recipe; this is how you can make one cookie,” O’Mara said. “We can take that process and scale it up to make 10,000 cookies.

They come to us with a drug or therapeutic and need to make it in mass quantities for clinical trials.”

A CMO such as Cytovance offers capacity that clients may not have. “The reason CMOs are so attractive is that companies can manufacture their 14

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products without having to build the space themselves,” O’Mara said. “The fear is that you build this multimillion dollar facility and then your drug fails. Then you are sitting there with that building that you can’t use.”

Cytovance markets itself at industry trade shows and through a small sales force located on both the East and West coasts, the Midwest and in Asia. There are scores of CMOs competing for biologics customers worldwide.

“I think what separates us from some of the competition is that we give our customers a more personalized relationship,” O’Mara said. “They are not just another product coming through our facility.”

By the end of this year, Cytovance expects to employ at least 285 people, O’Mara said.

Launched as an Oklahoma-owned business in 2005, Cytovance was acquired in 2015 by Hepalink USA, a subsidiary of China-based Shenzhen Hepalink Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. The Oklahoma City business has retained almost total autonomy in the operation of the business, O’Mara said.

“The parent company, Hepalink, does not get involved in our day-to-day business,” he said. “We run all of that. At the end of the year, budget time, end-of-year results, they consult with us. But for the most part, we run independently from them.”

Look for even more breaking news from Cytovance in the near future.

“We are talking to several clients about commercial supply of their drugs,” O’Mara said.

“Some of those clients require additional capacity of up to 10,000 liters.”

New business of that scope likely would require additional space and even more employees.

“If we get a couple of our customers who go commercial, it’s going to require us to do 24/7 operation with a whole new wave of hiring people, as well,” O’Mara said.

Figure 2 Relationship between polymer size and effective half-life (MRT) of the FVlla conjugates in rate

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The HEPtune system is applicable to numerous therapeutic classes including proteins, peptides, aptamers, small molecules, various antibody modalities, and liposomal delivery systems.

Caisson is advancing the development of novel therapeutics through its ongoing collaborations and is actively seeking new partnerships.

MRT (h) in rat

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• Simplified purification of conjugated therapeutics

OKC’s Cytovance Biologics continues on growth trajectory

For both the heparosan and PEG-conjugates, the effective half-life (mean residence time, MRT) of FVlla was observed to increase with increasing polymer size up to approximately 40 kDa. Above this size no further extension of half-life was observed (Figure 2)

• Precisely controlled, consistent molecular weights

• Greater solubility, and stability (broad pH range)

Proteolytic activity increased 78%

Half-Life increased 23%

• Fully biodegradable polymers

• Safe absorption, metabolism and excretion

MICROVISION

HEPtune Improves Performance for FVlla

Figure 3 Relationship between polymer size and in vitro proteolytic activity of the FVlla conjugates Mean + S D (n = 2)

100

15 10

Mean + S D (n = 3) FVlla 407C-PEG

5 0

The heparosan conjugates retained higher proteolytic activity as compared to the corresponding PEG conjugate.

At the optimal polymer size of 40 kDa the specific proteolytic activity was (48+4)% as compared to (27+1)% for the corresponding PEG conjugate (Figure 3)

Proteolytic activity (% FVlla)

Caisson Biotech, LLC is a collaboration driven biotechnology company specializing in the development of heparosan polymers to improve therapeutic drug delivery and performance.

Caisson’s HEPtune® polymers are designed to offer increased drug loading and efficacy for antibody drug conjugates (ADC’s), as well as improved half-life for a range of drug modalities.

Caisson’s patented HEPtune system has numerous inherent advantages over competing linker and half-life extension technologies:

FVlla 407C - Heparsoan 0

40

80

120

Polymer size (kDa)

160

The effective half-life was 17.1 + 0.7 h for the 40 kDa heparosan conjugate and 13.9 + 0.1 for the 40kDa PEGylated conjugate. In companson the effective halflife of FVlla was 1.7 + 0.1 h (n = 3 rats)

FVlla 407C-PEG

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FVlla 407C - Heparsoan

60 40 20 0

0

40

80

120

Polymer size (kDa)

160

Source: Novo Nordisk poster from World Federation of Hemophilia World Congress, July 2016

PURE MHC LEVERAGES THE HUMAN IMMUNE SYSTEM TO CREATE NOVEL THERAPEUTICS

This story was originally published in The Oklahoman.

It is published here with permission.

particular cell, including proteins that are not expressed on the cell surface.

Biomarkers discovered by Pure MHC represent nature’s own means of marking diseased cells for elimination, and Pure MHC has developed a unique class of monoclonal antibodies that are specific for the biomarkers that we discover and validate. These highly specific monoclonal antibodies mimic the immune system’s recognition mechanisms, and the provision of these monoclonal reagents compliments our discovery of disease-specific biomarkers. Moreover, Pure MHC’s monoclonal antibodies, referred to as T Cell Receptor mimics (TCRm), can readily be optimized to treat disease or for use in diagnostics, as well as for other pre-clinical development assays. Alternatively, the variable regions from these TCRm can be utilized to drive development for a variety of therapeutic modalities.

Pure MHC announced a partnership with AbbVie in 2017 for oncology related target discovery, and the company is actively seeking partners in target discovery for infectious and autoimmune disease and allergy.

"The reason CMOs are so attractive is that companiescanmanufacture their products without having to build the space themselves.

Thefearisthatyoubuildthis multimilliondollarfacility and then your drug fails.

Then you are sitting there with that building that you can't use."

Pure MHC, LLC, is a platform technology company with expertise in disease-specific target identification and validation, as well as immunotherapeutic drug development for cancer, infectious and autoimmune diseases, and allergy.

Pure MHC identifies and leverages the same

disease targets for drug discovery that the immune system naturally uses to identify foreign or aberrant protein targets in cancerous, infected, or unhealthy cells. The intrinsic value of this technology is that it provides access to every protein that is either synthesized or degraded inside any BIO Edition 2018 i&E

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The Smarter Grid

Now Hear This.

OKC’s Hough Ear Institute discovers promising process to regrow hair cells critical to reversing hearing loss For the 300 million people worldwide who live with disabling hearing loss, few alternatives exist to restore their critical sense of hearing. Hearing aids. Cochlear implants. And little else.

Both alternatives are too expensive for most of the world’s population to afford.

“Hearing aids cost about $5,000 every five years, and cochlear implants cost at least $50,000,” said Dr. Richard Kopke, an ear surgeon and CEO of Oklahoma City’s Hough Ear Institute. “And 90 percent of those 300 million people cannot even afford a hearing aid.”

Hough Ear Institute has pioneered a promising new alternative to restore hearing loss for those living with the condition. The notfor-profit research institute discovered a way to regrow the sensory hair cells in the inner ear that are critical for hearing.

Hough Ear Institute was established in the early 1980s by the Baptist Medical Center foundation to continue the work of Dr. Jack Hough, an internationally respected otologist. In 1997, the Institute became a free-standing research institution and today shares space with the Otologic Medical Clinic.

Hough Ear Institute employs 10 scientists and four support staff, all of whom are focused on advancing groundbreaking technologies to restore hearing.

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Most hearing loss is attributed to two main factors, Kopke said.

“Noise and birthdays,” he said. “Age-related causes and loud noise account for two-thirds of all sensorineural hearing loss. Once the noise kills the hair cells or, in the aging process, once the hair cells are lost, they don’t come back. It’s a permanent deficit.”

Hough Ear Institute recently published a paper about its hair cell regenerating technology in the peer-reviewed scientific journal “Molecular Therapy,” published by the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy.

Hough Ear’s strategy to regrow hair cells involves a technique that blocks a protein that keeps the cochlear tissues from regenerating hair cells.

Headlined “Regeneration of cochlear hair cells and hearing recovery through Hes1 modulation with siRNA nanoparticles,” the article lists 10 Hough Ear Institute researchers – including Kopke – as coauthors.

Publication of the discovery is important for a number of reasons, said Matthew West, Ph.D., a Hough Ear Institute research scientist and one of the authors.

“It shows other researchers how they might envision strategies to complement or implement our technologies in a clinical setting or even in their own studies,” West said. “Also, a very important benefit of (publication) is that it validates our approach.”

There are more ongoing developments by the Institute. Hough Ear and its commercialization partner, Otologic Pharmaceutics Inc., recently were awarded a $1.9 million Department of Defense grant to support the hair cell regeneration research. Their application was the only one among 73 submissions that was awarded funding.

Kopke and Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation scientist Robert Floyd, Ph.D., are Otologic Pharmaceutics co-founders. The company has received local investment from i2E Inc., the Presbyterian Health Foundation, Accele BioPharma and local Angel investors among others. Otologic Pharmaceutics has the exclusive license to the hair cell regeneration technology as well as the license for another later stage therapy, NHPN-1010.

“We’ve had a lot of success with those OCAST grants,” Kopke said. “Those grants have kept us going, and we have leveraged them for much larger grants from outside the state and also developed the intellectual property that is needed to move it forward. They’ve been a huge help to us.”

The ability to regrow hair cells and restore hearing is a truly groundbreaking discovery, said Hough Ear Institute scientist Dr. Xiaoping Du, also a co-author of the recently published paper.

“Our results with hair cell and hearing recovery were very robust and reproducible,” he said.

Added Kopke: “It’s something that most people in our field over the years said wouldn’t be possible. Being able to regrow cochlear hair cells could be a breakthrough treatment that could help the 300 million around the world have restored hearing.”

OG&E embraces innovative technologies to power Oklahoma When the earliest attempts to bring electric power to Oklahoma City began in the 1890s, entrepreneurs were investigating an emerging technology – electrification. OG&E soon rose to the forefront of this new technology as the company that was finally successful in achieving this sought-after technology.

Through the years, the electricity business has experienced many changes: a growth in distributed generation (small wind and solar power) and an increased use of digital technology and interfaces for communications.

OG&E has taken the lead once again with recent innovative programs – wind power, Smart Grid and now solar power – our innovation approach is a balance of incorporating new technology while keeping the impact to our stakeholders in terms of affordability, reliability, safety and environmental responsibility top of mind.

Already a leader in wind energy in the state of Oklahoma, with over 840 MW in its wind portfolio, the company now has incorporated solar energy into its generating portfolio with the launch of Oklahoma’s first utility-owned solar farm at the site of its Mustang Power Plant in June 2015. The farm has enough capacity to energize approximately 500 homes. The company believes solar power and other distributed generation technology can create opportunities to offer new alternatives for customers to manage their bills.

OG&E also is recognized as a national leader in smart grid deployment and the use of this asset to help customers better manage their electricity consumption.

Since 2012, more than 115,000 OG&E customers have enrolled in the award-winning SmartHours® summer rate plan and have helped the company shave its demand peak, which reduces the need for new incremental fossil-fueled generation.

The smart grid also creates grid intelligence which enables OG&E to restore power faster, reduce the frequency and duration of outages and improve information flow to customers.

Last year, OG&E added electric vehicles, Nissan Leafs and Chevy Volts, to its fleet.

These EVs are more environmentally friendly and reduce the company’s fuel and maintenance expenses. This year, the company will add more EVs and promote the use of EVs for use in business fleets.

As its industry evolves, OG&E will continue to apply new technologies as it partners with customers to provide reliable service at the lowest reasonable cost.

This story was originally published in The Oklahoman.

It is published here with permission.

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The Foundation

of Basic Research

Since 1985, the Presbyterian Health Foundation has awarded more than $100 million to support medical research, education, and economic growth in Oklahoma. We are focused on stimulating breakthroughs in scientific research by supporting the vital work of scientists seeking causes and potential treatments across disease groups. Our commitment to funding in this area reflects our belief that innovative basic medical research is absolutely crucial to advancing the health and well-being of humankind in Oklahoma.

655 Research Parkway • Suite 500 • Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 405.319.8150 • PHFOKC.COM

OneNet’s Connection to Pacific Wave Enhances Scientific Collaborations for Oklahoma’s Research Institutions

World Class Research in a World Class City Norman is a Vibrant and Unique city with a storied past and a Bright future.

In the past three years alone, there has been over $300 million in planned quality of life enhancements including schools, parks and trails. But it is the people of Norman and the greatness of the University of Oklahoma that continue to make Oklahoma’s third largest city the location for technology businesses of all types. for more information, visit

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xpanded global connections will soon advance innovation and scientific discovery for Oklahoma researchers. With support from the National Science Foundation’s International Research Network Connections (NSF IRNC) program, OneNet will be directly connected to the Pacific Wave International Exchange and its peering and high-performance, scientific networks. OneNet is the comprehensive digital communications initiative of the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, and this new connectivity to the Western U.S. and Asia-Pacific region will enhance scientific collaborations for Oklahoma’s research institutions.

Research and education projects within the state of Oklahoma, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Weather Center, and the National Severe Storms Laboratory will benefit from OneNet’s ever-expansive global connections.

Researchers at the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University will be connected to the Pacific Wave through OneNet’s 100Gbps high-speed optical network.

“Through this new connection to the Pacific Wave network, many of OneNet’s member institutions will benefit from the enhanced connectivity to the Asia-Pacific region and beyond,” said Chancellor Glen D. Johnson. “Researchers at Oklahoma’s higher education institutions can further leverage existing research in areas like high energy physics, atmospheric science and predictive

modeling, hydrology and water resources, machine learning, bioinformatics and genomic research.”

OneNet will connect to Pacific Wave via the Western Regional Network (WRN). WRN is an extension of Pacific Wave, created by a collaboration of the Western regional research and education optical networks: Front Range Gigapop (CO and WY), New Mexico Gigapop, University of Hawaii, Pacific Northwest Gigapop (WA, AK, MT, ND) and CENIC (CA).

The Pacific Wave connects most international Asia-Pacific networks, key Western U.S. regional networks and leading national-scale research networks like Internet2 and ESnet.

“An explicit goal of Pacific Wave, and a goal shared by OneNet, is to develop and deploy a curated set of advanced networking components and architectures that reach across large geographies. These efforts will empower researchers to achieve the network effects required to enable and accelerate the next waves of discovery in science, engineering and medicine,” said Louis Fox, principal investigator of the NSF-funded Pacific Wave IRNC, and president and CEO of CENIC, California’s research and education network.

One organization that will benefit from the new connection is the National Weather Center, a unique confederation of the University of Oklahoma, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and state organizations that work together in partnership to improve understanding of events occurring in Earth’s atmosphere. The scientific data

collected, analyzed and generated within the programs housed at the National Weather Center are leveraged extensively globally and will benefit from the new connection to the Pacific Wave. At Oklahoma State University, expanded connections such as the Pacific Wave enhance opportunities for university research scientists.

“OneNet’s connection to Pacific Wave will enable Oklahoma’s researchers to collaborate globally on a variety of initiatives through international partnerships,” said Vonley Royal, OneNet executive director and higher education chief information officer.

“The requirements of Oklahoma’s research community, related to high-performance computing, are diverse and demanding.

The enhanced connection to the Asia-Pacific region is another way OneNet is leveraging collaborations to meet these requirements.”

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GET WITH THE PROGRAMS!

Model of Innovation OCAST support of Wei Chen research pays off in coveted NIH grant

Innovation

A Proven Investment in Oklahoma

Wei Chen, Ph.D., is a pioneering scientist at the University of Central Oklahoma who is exploring novel ways to treat late-stage, metastatic cancers.

A professor of biomedical engineering and dean of the College of Mathematics and Science at UCO, Chen became in 2017 the first scientist at a non-research university in Oklahoma to receive a coveted R01 grant from the National Institutes of Health.

Over the past two decades, he and his collaborators have worked to develop a new treatment for late-stage, metastatic cancers that combines laser irradiation and immunotherapy.

“Metastasis causes 90 percent of cancerrelated deaths,” Chen said. “We are still searching for an effective method for treating metastatic cancers.”

Chen developed a treatment method known as laser immunotherapy (LIT). LIT uses the combination of local laser irradiation and the local administration of an immunological stimulant to treat tumors. This induces system wide, anti-tumor responses within the immune system.

The Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology works to diversify Oklahoma’s economy through strategic investment in innovation, science and technology. The investment we make locally improves the quality of life globally, while growing Oklahoma's economy.

Since inception OCAST has: • funded 2,700 projects • made investments of more than $285 million in research and development

• attracted $6.5 billion in private sector and federal funding • had a return on investment of 22:1

Small Business >> Startup Capital >> Manufacturing >> Internships >> Health >>

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Dr. Chen’s laser immunotherapy treatment has been used successfully to treat breast cancers in clinical trials in Peru, as well as in a well documented case involving an Oklahoma man with late-stage metastatic cancer.

“He was diagnosed four years ago with late-stage melanoma,” Dr. Chen said of the patient. “He was given three to six months to live. Then by chance he learned that I’m working on a new method for treating melanoma. He called me and I arranged for my collaborator to treat him with our methodology.

“After several sessions, we not only removed the melanoma on his head, but also destroyed the metastasis in his lungs,” Dr. Chen said. “Now after four years, he is healthy and tumor free.”

Chen’s technology has also been licensed by St. Louis-based Immunophotonics Inc., which is working to take the laser

immunotherapy into U.S. clinical trials. He also includes UCO students – both graduates and undergraduates – in his research.

The NIH, through its National Cancer Institute, awarded Chen a five-year R01 grant, totaling $1.34 million, to support the continuation of work on his cancer treatment method. R01 grants are considered to be the gold standard of research grants.

Chen attributes the success in winning the NIH grant to Oklahoma support of his research more than a decade ago through the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology (OCAST).

“OCAST funded me with an Oklahoma Applied Research Support (OARS) grant in 2000, which supported my research and allowed me to perform critical experiments to test the concept of LIT and lay the foundation for further study,” he said. “Then since 2016, OCAST has been funding me through a Health Research grant, which actually happened to fill the gap in the funding so I had the opportunity to apply for the NIH R01 grant.”

Dr. Chen is just one of the many innovators OCAST has funded over the past 30 years. Since 1988, OCAST has invested $285 million in 2,700 projects that have returned $6.5 billion to the state.

OCAST’s support of Chen’s research showcases just two programs from its broad menu of programs that enhance Oklahoma innovation. In addition to the OARS program and Health Research grants, OCAST support programs include Intern Partnerships, Small Business Research Assistance, Inventors Assistance Service and the Oklahoma Seed Capital Fund managed by i2E. The Oklahoma Manufacturing Alliance is a strategic partner of OCAST, as well.

“We are proud that OCAST’s support of Dr. Chen’s research resulted in a National Institutes of Health grant to further his work,” said C. Michael Carolina, OCAST executive director. “Beyond that, we’re hopeful that this groundbreaking technology will someday provide breakthrough treatment for late-stage cancers that impact the lives of millions of people worldwide.”

For Wei Chen, local support of his work established the groundwork that led to wider recognition.

“OCAST recognized the importance of my idea for this new concept for laser immunotherapy,” Chen said. “In many ways, OCAST support is instrumental to my research and leading to my R01 grant.”

The following OCAST program and strategic partners are available to help Oklahoma businesses and researchers prove their ideas, attract additional funding and take their products to market. For information on specific programs, contact OCAST at 866-265-2215.

Oklahoma Applied Research Support (OARS): Cutting edge research leads to successful products, processes and services.

OARS funds research in diverse fields, ranging from medicine, agriculture and energy to manufacturing, aerospace and biotechnology.

Oklahoma Health Research: Oklahomans are developing treatments and conducting research to help people live longer, healthier lives. Through this program, OCAST funds basic human health research projects to generate the preliminary information to attract the much greater R&D funding necessary to move the work forward and develop treatments to help combat society’s greatest afflictions.

Postdoctoral Fellowship (Health Fellowship): The new Post Doc initiative encourages recent doctoral degree recipients to better prepare for scientific- and technical-based careers in research institutions or high-tech companies in Oklahoma with the goal of attracting/retaining high-quality health research scientists.

Intern Partnerships: The Intern Partnerships support projects that partner Oklahoma high tech businesses with Oklahoma’s institutions of higher education by providing funds to support student and faculty internships in these companies and non-profit organizations.

Small Business Research Assistance (SBRA): The Oklahoma SBRA program help Oklahoma small businesses identify and successfully compete for research funding through Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR), Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) and other federal programs.

Inventors Assistance Service (IAS)/New Project Development Center (NPDC): IAS helps inventors navigate the process of advancing an idea through education, information and referrals. Then the NPDC provides design, engineering analysis, market feasibility and business launch support.

Oklahoma Manufacturing Alliance: The Alliance connects Oklahoma manufacturers to cost effective resources, helps develop and implement more efficient manufacturing processes and introduces technology to increase productivity and reduce costs.

Oklahoma SEED Capital Fund: Managed for OCAST by i2E Inc., the Oklahoma Seed Capital Fund was created to invest in Oklahoma high growth companies that need capital to grow their business. Businesses applying for state dollars from the fund must first have matching funds committed from private sector co-investment before the state dollars may be used.

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THE OKLAHOMA BIO ADVANTAGE Oklahoma is fertile ground for bioscience growth, talent and premier facilities: 1. The Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology (OCAST) has funded 2,700 projects at more than $285 million, attracting $6.5 billion in private sector and federal dollars for a return on investment of 22:1.

2. The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center is dedicated to both basic and translational research, with patientcentered care and research ongoing at the Stephenson Cancer Center, the Harold Hamm Diabetes Center and the Dean McGee Eye Institute.

3. The University Research Park is part of the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center campus located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The complex consists of more than 700,000 square feet of modern biomedical research lab and office space supported by state-of-the-art communications and infrastructure systems.

4. The Noble Research Institute is the largest private foundation in the country conducting plant science and agriculture research.

5. Oklahoma State University is a leader in agriculture and animal science research.

6. In the past year, i2E, Inc. invested over $4.8 million in 10 Oklahoma bioscience or life science companies and $28 million over the past 20 years.

Bioscience in Oklahoma truly is driving innovation that is improving lives and creating jobs! Here is a look at some of our emerging bio companies: Accele BioPharma, a bioscience business accelerator, has three bio companies under management that focus on infectious disease, drug-resistant bacterial infections and hearing loss.

Biolytx is a pharmaceutical technology company developing a novel antibiotic peptide for potential use in wound healing and treatment of serious hospital-acquired infections, including those resistant to current antibiotics. The technology was developed in the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center laboratory of Dr. Anne Pereira and licensed from OU.

Cytovance Biologics, Inc. is a pharmaceutical contract manufacturer producing biologics, therapeutic proteins and antibodies. The company employs more than 215, and their products are used globally for clinical trials and research.

Immuno Mycologics is listed as one of Inc.’s fastest-growing private companies in the nation. IMMY is a diagnostic manufacturing company that has evolved from a company that filled a need in the infectious disease market to an organization with a global focus on saving lives through innovative products.

Linear Health Sciences is a medtech startup working on new safety release valve technology for medical tubing. Its Orchid valve will help reduce central lines, provide more efficient IV setups, and decrease risk of dislodgment — saving hospitals money and time by avoiding additional procedures.

They are the first to receive a grant from the Global Center for Medical Innovation (GCMI), a comprehensive medical device innovation center.

Progentec Diagnostics, Inc. has developed an advanced state-of-the-art Lupus flare diagnostic, which has potential to fundamentally change the current treatment paradigm for Lupus. The company has partnered with the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, a Center of Excellence for Lupus in the US and they are striving to accelerate commercialization of the patented diagnostic technology by early 2018.

Moleculera Labs is a pioneer in infectioninduced autoimmune conditions that disrupt neurologic function. The company currently markets a diagnostic test, the Cunningham Panel, which predicts a patient’s likelihood having Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Streptococci (PANDAS).

Selexys Pharmaceuticals was acquired by Novartis Pharmaceuticals. The founders of Selexys remain in Oklahoma and are working on a new company, Tetherex Pharmaceuticals, which is focused on development of antibodies for the treatment of inflammatory and thrombotic diseases.

OKLAHOMA BIO SELLING POINTS > High quality, affordable and available facilities > University of Oklahoma University Research Park > Incentives available for qualifying companies > Oklahoma’s bioscience sector: • Contributes more than $6.7 billion to economy • Supports more than 51,000 Oklahoma jobs • More than $4.1 billion in annual revenues

i2E: Investing in Oklahoma Bioscience For 20 years, i2E has played a major role in funding Oklahoma researchers and entrepreneurs by investing more than $23 million in Oklahoma bioscience companies that are either developing new therapeutics, developing new medical devices or providing support technologies for the bioscience industry and industry research and development.

Companies in the i2E portfolio are advancing a diverse mix of medical solutions for specific conditions that range from inflammatory disease to macular degeneration to antibiotics to food safety, hearing loss, toxicology and much more.

> Significant pockets of research excellence: • Hough Ear Institute • Laureate Institute of Brain Research • Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation • Oklahoma State University • Noble Research Institute • University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center • Dean McGee Eye Institute • Stephenson Cancer Center • Harold Hamm Diabetes Center • University of Tulsa

TETHEREX

> Oklahoma’s Innovative service providers: • Accele BioPharma • Analytical Edge • ARL/DNA Solutions • Cytovance Biologics • DRIK • Emergent Technologies • EyeCRO • i2E, Inc. • Lynn Health Science Institute • OKBio Association • Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology

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Discover at Central

> Oklahoma’s cutting-edge research strengths: • Agricultural productivity • Autoimmune diseases and Immunology • Biofuels • Cancer • Cardiovascular Research • Glycobiology and Carbohydrates • Infectious Disease and Microbiology • Natural Products for Health • Plant Improvement • Value-Added Food Product • Vision Research

okbio.org facebook.com/OKBio

Tomorrow’s health issues can be solved by inspiring a spirit of discovery today.

A Central Biomedical Engineering student is encouraged to learn and adapt, to seek creative and innovative solutions, to discover the confidence to be ready for whatever comes next.

Learn more at uco.edu/BSBM. TM

U N I V E R S I T Y TM

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Even as these new technologies edge closer to bringing their life changing outcomes to patients around the world, other promising discoveries continue to emerge from Oklahoma laboratories. Millions of dollars will be required to advance them to the market.

In Oklahoma, many life science entrepreneurs will continue to turn to i2E for the critical seed funding needed to survive the initial stages of development. In the past year, i2E Inc. has invested over $4.8 million in 10 bioscience or life science companies.

The following is a look at some of the bioscience companies that i2E investments have supported over the years.

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O F

w w w. u c o . e d u

C E N T R A L

uco.bronchos

O K L A H O M A

UCOBronchos

Software, Your Way. Fast.

Oklahoma’s Productive Technologies succeeds with specialized quality control software product Max Doleh, founder, and CEO of Edmond, OKbased Productive Technologies and Sigma Blood Systems, pulled a phone out of his pocket and searched for an email he received the previous day.

The sender was The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, a client that had just gone live with Productive Technologies’ PERFEQTA quality and process management software platform for its blood bank.

With PERFEQTA, and without the need for computer programing expertise, clients can build tailored software solutions around the way they work without the need to engage expensive custom software development services or buying off-the-shelf software that may not entirely fit the client’s operations.

PERFEQTA’s focus on process tracking, audit trail and compliance makes it a natural fit for highly-regulated industries such as healthcare, aviation, and government.

“Yesterday, we got the email that MD Anderson has shut off their old quality software, and now PERFEQTA is the official system of record for their blood bank’s quality control procedures,” Doleh said. “We are ecstatic.”

MD Anderson, one of the world’s most respected centers devoted to cancer patient care,

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research, education, and prevention, began a transition to the PERFEQTA platform on Dec. 1.

“MD Anderson was able to automate their existing procedures without making a lot of changes to the way their business operates,” Doleh said. “And they transformed over 200 laboratory procedures into smart PERFEQTA applications on their own in five months. That could have taken three years otherwise.”

PERFEQTA distinguishes itself in the quality control software market because it provides the ability to manage processes from the user’s point of view, said Doleh, who employs 51 people in his companies.

“After using the PERFEQTA platform, MD Anderson users reported through anonymous surveys that PERFEQTA will make a great impact on their daily operations,” he said. “They liked the intuitive design, ease of use and the support received from the PERFEQTA team.”

MD Anderson went live with the PERFEQTA software just weeks after blood collection organizations in New Jersey, and Iowa also began using it. Users with the Central Jersey Blood Center and Iowa’s LifeServe Blood Center report similar experiences to MD Anderson’s.

“Instead of using multiple software products to automate different areas of our operations, we are working on consolidating all of that into PERFEQTA,” said Stacy Sime, president and CEO of LifeServe. “Our staff was able to configure and validate the platform in record time to help manage facility maintenance and quality system documentation within the blood center. We see PERFEQTA as an essential tool to help our continuous improvement efforts, as we strive to provide safe blood to those that need it.”

When Doleh received the email notifying him that MD Anderson had gone 100 percent live with PERFEQTA, it was time for the third cake in four months. Cake is a core-value principle for PERFEQTA and symbolizes a happy client.

“We want our clients to look at PERFEQTA as a natural extension of their work environment,” he said. “We plan to continue building future-proof technologies that grow with clients’ operations and aspirations.”

This story was originally published in The Oklahoman. It is published here with permission.

Oklahoma-based Progentec Diagnostics develops suite of tools to diagnose and manage painful autoimmune disease

Predicting the lupus flare The Lupus Foundation of America estimates there are 1.5 million Americans who are afflicted with lupus, a chronic autoimmune disease in which the patient’s immune system attacks healthy tissue in the body.

The results are painful and potentially life threatening. Lupus damages skin, joints and organs, including the kidneys and the heart.

Lupus develops in a population that is usually between 15 and 44 years old – mostly women – with symptoms that ebb and flow over time. When the symptoms show up it is known as a lupus “flare.”

Diagnosing and predicting an impending lupus flare is an inexact science, meaning that treatments often begin well after symptoms show up.

Oklahoma City-based Progentec Diagnostics, Inc., has developed a trio of tests that can predict a lupus flare weeks in advance, improve accuracy of a lupus diagnosis and monitor effectiveness of the treatment after diagnosis.

“The current test for diagnosing lupus is really old and probably has a 50 to 60 percent predictive value,” said Sanjiv Sharma, Progentec co-founder and chairman of the board.

“Whereas, our test, once the data is confirmed in a larger trial, could have over a 90 percent predictive value.”

Progentec licensed technology from the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (OMRF) to build the suite of diagnostics. OMRF scientists Judith James, Ph.D., M.D., and Melissa Munroe, Ph.D., M.D., pioneered research that identified biomarkers that could predict a future lupus flare.

“There is a big unmet need in screening the right people and managing them early,” said Progentec CEO and President Mohan Purushothaman, Ph.D. “There is no good screening test to classify whether a patient has lupus or not. Most people only know they have lupus when they get a flare or when their doctor

finds something indicative of lupus as part of their physical.”

Founded in 2015, Progentec completed a $1.25 million financing round in 2017 that was led by i2E, Inc., OCA Ventures and Mayo Clinic Ventures. It also was awarded a grant from the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology (OCAST) to support one of its studies.

“We are working very closely with i2E to prepare us for the next round of funding,” Purushothaman said. “We have initiated two studies to further refine our algorithms and ready them for commercial launch.”

Progentec is in the process of setting up its own laboratory and obtaining CLIA certification by mid-2018. CLIA is an acronym for Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments through which the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) regulates all laboratory testing (except research) performed on humans in the U.S.

“In order to go through the CLIA certification process and to ensure that our technology is supported and accepted by the medical community as well as the payer community, we are planning multiple studies in the near future,” Purushothaman said.

Progentec’s flare prediction test could be available by September. Its Disease Activity Index test should be available by late 2019 and a Lupus Classification test by 2020.

“Our goal is to complete the retrospective study at OMRF by June this year,” Purushothaman said. “Our prospective study for which 100 patients will be recruited at OMRF and Mayo Clinic is expected to finish by June 2019.”

Armed with more accurate tests of identifying and prediction lupus flares, physicians will be able to prescribe more effective treatments to combat the disease, said Manu Nair, vice president of technology ventures at OMRF. Lupus patients will see an improved

quality of life.

“Doctors that we spoke to love this candidate test, because they can actually have a good tool for their patients, and to manage the patients and give the right medication,” Nair said. “If you can predict flare and dampen it, you avoid that hospital cost, and long term you could avoid organ damage in general, and related medical needs like kidney transplant.”

Progentec has achieved significant development milestones to quickly advance the diagnostics in part because of support from Oklahoma’s economic development environment, Purushothaman said.

“i2E has been a wonderful support for us, and we continue to work with them as we grow,” he said. “The research and scientific team at OMRF have been phenomenal in their R&D efforts. We have also seen other agencies in Oklahoma such as OCAST play their part effectively in nurturing companies like ours.”

The company is on track to deploy a groundbreaking diagnostic with the potential to improve the lives of millions of people worldwide.

“We are not creating another small diagnostic,” Sharma said. “Our vision is a complete solution through state-of-the-art diagnostics helping right from diagnosing lupus, to management of lupus flare and help in monitoring disease and effectiveness or lack of effects of various treatments.”

This story was originally published in The Oklahoman. It is published here with permission.

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Ponca City, a free citywide Wi-fi micropolitan in north Central Oklahoma, is home to Log10, a food safety and probiotic manufacturing company.

Log10 specializes in food safety, consulting and manufacturing which includes probiotic protection and pathogen elimination for all types of consumables and production machinery.

Log10 moved into a speculation building which quickly became a build-to-suit with the option to purchase as part of their contract and is in good company with other food manufacturing companies including Head Country BBQ and Cookshack Cookers. Ponca City is centrally located and is strategically rural with access to rail, air and interstate. Five minutes from lakes, trails and golf, Ponca City offers a great place to Live, Work and Play.

The Bioscience Roundtable (BSR) is an organization of Oklahoma City metro area bioscience employees and researchers that collaborate with OKBIO to provide networking opportunities, to serve as a sounding board to air and identify common issues and to share resources.

BSR meets for lunch bi-monthly at the University of Oklahoma University Research Park.

Its informal agendas generally feature a speaker on a topic timely and relevant to the group, and an opportunity for open dialogue among the attendees. On alternate months, BSR organizes informal networking opportunities at local businesses around the metro.

OKBio values BSR for its role as a sounding board and a source for grassroots information regarding the needs and interests of bioscience researchers and emerging bioscience companies, and encourages formation of similar local and regional groups around the state.

For more information on BSR, contact Meredith Wilkerson, at Meredith-wilkerson@ ouhsc.edu

The Ardmore Development Authority serves as the premier economic development organization in Southern Oklahoma. A historic center for agriculture, as well as the oil and gas industries, Ardmore is home to companies that have played significant roles in research and development for both. In recent years, companies have emerged in Ardmore with a focus on world class agricultural research, creation of medical devices and infrared technology. Located halfway between Dallas and Oklahoma City, Ardmore is ideally situated to provide quick access to the biomedical and technological research centers that are in these metropolitan areas.

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Agric-Bioformatics LLC is an Oklahoma City-based biotechnology company that is revolutionizing the cattle industry. Agric-Bioformatics has developed a next-generation management software for analysis, interpretation, and visualization of genetic data in order to improve production and performance of livestock. Agric-Bioformatics’ first product, AgBoostTM, integrates inventory, herd management and genomic profiling on one software platform for the cattle industry. We aim to provide cattle producers an affordable and easy-to-use tool that allows better access to, and understanding of, genomic and physical data. AgBoostTM is designed to allow producers to become more sustainable, improve animal welfare, and produce quality meat.

COARE , Inc. is a drug development company that seeks to advance the current treatment modality of patients with aggressive cancers by coordinately targeting aspects of both the primary tumor and the biological processes that effect metastatic initiation and progression. We are currently developing several novel therapeutic technologies, including immunotherapy and nanomedicine, aimed at targeting the master regulatory processes that have been hijacked and are used to support the cancer microenvironment.

Our therapeutic strategies are focused on the doublecortin-like kinase 1 (DCLK1) tumor stem cell marker.

DCLK1 is a complex target with 4 primary isoforms and COARE has strategies to target these isoforms and the cells that express them, selectively or in tandem.

Most importantly, COARE has evidence demonstrating DCLK1’s selective overexpression in target cancers, modulation of functional stemness, and extracellular expression.

Drik LLC, is a privately owned non-clinical contract research organization and provides drug discovery and toxicology solutions. The company conducts preclinical research for local and multinational companies that serves the needs of integrated in silico, in vitro and in vivo studies which are essential for drug discovery phase and development. Our major power is in bridging in vitro - in vivo gap and the premium 3D Organ culture model. www.atdrik.com

THERE IS NO BETTER PARTNER THAN A LOYAL LAB.

DEHA is a pre-clinical pharmaceutical company developing first in class therapeutic solutions for a target involved in several indications including stroke. We aim to obtain Orphan designation from FDA and fast-track the development. www.deha.us.com

PolySkope was founded in 2011 by an experienced group of scientists, led by Dr. Michael Centola, with the singular goal of translating multiplex testing technologies into simple, cost-saving, and environmentally friendly food safety solutions.

PolySkope 1.0 is the first AOAC approved multiplex method for individual or simultaneous detection of Shiga Toxin E. coli (including serotype O157:H7), Salmonella species, and Listeria monocytogenes, using a single RT-PCR protocol and enrichment media. Co-enrichment of one to three pathogens is done using PolySkope’s proprietary Multiplex Enrichment Media (PMEM).

PolySkope 1.0 is a game changer that eliminates the use of multiple protocols by providing a single, simple protocol for detection of 1, 2, or all 3 pathogens. This results in a 3-fold reduction of workflow, labor, logistics, materials, inventory, training, footprint, equipment and regulatory complexities. PolySkope’s single protocol and universal enrichment medium also reduce environmental impact by eliminating twothirds of disposables and by saving energy by eliminating the need to run multiple incubators at different temperatures. High-throughput facilities can realize a 0.74 metric ton reduction in plastic waste and 0.61 metric ton reduction in CO2 generated annually. Visit polyskopelabs.com for information

Progentec Diagnostics, Inc. is focused on providing state of the art diagnostics for lupus patients. The company is working on a technology platform that supports a set of diagnostics for comprehensive management of lupus. The commitment to this cause is rooted in our belief that better diagnostics would not only help in reducing the mortality and morbidity associated with lupus and reduce the overall cost of managing lupus, but also help in improving the lives of lupus patients worldwide.

Our platform has been shown to successfully provide comprehensive diagnostic tests to meet critical areas of lupus management ranging from accurate prediction of lupus flares and tracking of lupus disease activity to early detection and classification of lupus. Progentec has an experienced management team and have established strong partnerships with organizations such as the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation and Mayo Clinic who represent the best of lupus science and patient care.

ARL is a high-quality laboratory bringing excellence to pharmaceutical sciences.

Laboratory Services

Supporting Oklahoma’s

Innovative Hub of Research, Health Care and Education

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ADVANCING BIOTECHNOLOGY WITH UNIQUE DNA APPLICATIONS DNASOLUTIONSUSA.COM ISO 17025 Accredited

OKBio 2018

DNA Solutions is a genetic testing laboratory and leader in providing superior forensic, human, and animal DNA services.

• Human Genetic Identification • Animal Genetic Analysis

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BIOSCIENCE IS OUR BUSINESS WHAT COULD YOU ACCOMPLISH IN OKC?

World-class research and innovation is happening in Oklahoma City and big pharma is taking notice. Take Selexys for example. The homegrown company caught the eye of drug-giant Novartis and was acquired in a $665-million-dollar deal. What is the Oklahoma City advantage? Entrepreneurs, researchers and academics work hand-in-hand with public and private investors to create an industry that employs more than 51,000 workers and generates revenues of $6.7 billion annually. What could your research accomplish in OKC?

www.GreaterOklahomaCity.com/biotech 28

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