Gentara Corporation, an emerging biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of breakthrough pharmaceutical products for treating HIV infection and cancer, announced that it has relocated from Princeton, New Jersey and established its headquarters and research and development operations in Malvern, Pennsylvania.

“We are proud to become part of a new wave of outstanding biotech companies that have recently emerged in the Greater Philadelphia region. The region has a wealth of resources: leading medical research institutions; premier biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies; experienced investors; and ample scientific and management talent,” said John Gill, Gentara’s
president and chief executive officer. “The state’s commitment to life sciences companies combined with the alignment of support from Pennsylvania Bio and other regional support
organizations have created significant momentum. There’s something good happening here and now we’re part of it.”

Gentara’s products will be based on novel proprietary biology and chemistry. The technologies focus on a common theme of enabling cancer and HIV infected cells to die through the process of programmed cell death  “We have a real head start in our cancer program based on the work of our founding scientists at Princeton University,” said Dr. Mark McKinlay, Gentara’s chief scientific officer. “The program is exciting because the drugs we develop may be useful for many different types of cancer and we should be able to use a laboratory test to pre-select patients most likely to respond to therapy.”

Gentara recently closed an $8 million start-up financing. The financing was led by HealthCare Ventures LLC of Princeton, New Jersey and PA Early Stage of Wayne, Pennsylvania. PA Early Stage is one of the biotech venture capital firms that received tobacco settlement investment dollars to be invested Pennsylvania life sciences companies. The Tobacco Settlement Investment Board is managed by the Technology Investment Office of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development.

“During the early to mid 1980’s the region created two of the nation’s biggest biotech company successes – Centocor and Cephalon. A decade later, successful companies like Adolor, 3 Dimensional Pharmaceuticals and others emerged, creating jobs for thousands of Pennsylvanians,” said Dennis Yablonsky, secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. “Building on its past success, the region is creating an impressive new crop of start-up companies – companies like Gentara, BioRexis, Eximias, Acuity, Nucleonics, Morphotek and others.”

Yablonsky went on to note that most managers in these companies have previously worked both in the region’s major pharmaceutical companies and biotechnology companies, creating a collaborative environment. “The state expects these new companies to make major contributions to healthcare and to the region’s economy and we are pleased to see our efforts and investments paying off,” said Yablonsky. 
 
Source: Gentara Corporation

Pennsylvania Health Secretary Dr. Calvin B. Johnson today announced the appointment of 16 health-care leaders to the board of the Pennsylvania Cancer Control Consortium, known as PAC3. The directors will be responsible for implementing Pennsylvania's recently developed, first-ever, statewide plan to reduce cancer in Pennsylvania.

"This group of health-care leaders has cancer expertise ranging from prevention and healthy lifestyle to diagnosis, treatment, care delivery and quality of life," Dr. Johnson said. "When you combine their knowledge with that of other experts who work in partnership with them, you have the know-how and commitment to successfully implement our strategic plan on how to address and reduce cancer in Pennsylvania."

The five-year plan to reduce cancer in Pennsylvania identifies the current problems associated with cancer control today: the heavy and unequal cancer burden borne by the elderly; access to care issues faced by low-income and rural residents; and lack of coordination and limited resources for cancer prevention and control. The plan also identifies various strategies to improve cancer control efforts. A primary goal is to ensure that cancer- related health disparities are eliminated to benefit all Pennsylvanians.

The PAC3 Board includes:
• Catherine M. Belt, RN, MSN, AOCN, CNA, Oncology Nursing Society;
• Fritz Bittenbender, President, Pennsylvania Biotechnology Association;
• Aaron D. Bleznak, MD, FACS, State Chairman for the Commission on Cancer;
• Larry E. Davis, PhD, Dean of the School of Social Work at the University of Pittsburgh;
• Geoffrey P. Dunn, MD, FACS, Medical Director, Palliative Care Consult Service at Hamot Medical Center and Medical Director of Great Lakes Hospice;
• Robert F. Durkin, President of the Northeast Regional Cancer Institute;
• Karen Wolk Feinstein, PhD, President of the Jewish Healthcare Foundation of Pittsburgh;
• Donald R. Fischer, MD, MBA, Medical Director for Strategic Physician Relations at Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield;
• Ronald B. Herberman, MD, Director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute;
• Gary Allen Leipheimer, MPH, Vice President, Cancer Control, American Cancer Society, Pennsylvania Division, Inc.;
• Joseph B. May, Director, Bureau of Health Planning, Pennsylvania Department of Health;
• Ronald E. Myers, PhD, Professor of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Jefferson Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University;
• Witold B. Rybka, MD, Professor of Pathology and Medicine, Penn State Cancer Institute;
• Barbara E. Stader, RN, Director of Health, Allentown Health Bureau;
• Glenn D. Steele, Jr., MD, PhD, CEO and President, Geisinger Health Systems; and
• Col. (Ret) James E. Williams, Jr., USA, Co-Chairman, Board of Directors, Pennsylvania Prostate Cancer Coalition.

The mission of PAC3 is to reduce the human and economic burden of cancer for all citizens of the Commonwealth through a collaboration of leaders from many organizations. It was created in 2001 by the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the American Cancer Society and represents more than 400 stakeholders and organizations from the health-care community, cancer research centers, academia, community organizations, advocacy groups, insurers, industry, state government and cancer survivors.

To view a copy of the plan, contact the PAC3 Coordinating Office at (412) 623-3209 or visit the PAC3 Web site at http://www.pac3.org/ or http://www.health.state.pa.us/.

Source: Pennsylvania Department of Health

Cellumen, a new start up company formed by one of the Pittsburgh region's leading life sciences entrepreneurs, D. Lansing Taylor, Ph.D., co-founder of both Biological Detection Systems, Inc. (BDS) and Cellomics, Inc., and the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse (PLSG), announced that Cellumen, will be headquartered in Pittsburgh and will be taking space in the PLSG Incubator. Cellumen will form discovery partnerships with the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries using High Content Screening (HCS) with advanced, cell-based reagents and cell lines.

Dr. Taylor, one of the company's co-founders, joined with Dr. Alan Waggoner at Carnegie Mellon University to create Cellumen. The two have previously worked together to create other life sciences technologies and commercialize products at both BDS and Cellomics.

BDS developed the cyanine dyes that have become a standard fluorescent tag in numerous markets in the biotechnology industry (acquired by Amersham Biosciences in 1996), while Cellomics, Inc., accelerated the field of cellomics by creating the products and market for HCS and is the leader in this emerging market.

"There is now the opportunity to harness the HCS platform created by Cellomics, Inc., and to perform large-scale screens to both manipulate and measure cell constituents and functions," stated Dr. Taylor, who is Chief Executive Officer of Cellumen. "There is a major bottleneck in the advances in all life science markets from the need to understand the functions of genes, the protein molecular machines they encode, as well as non-coding, regulatory RNAs that are involved in normal and abnormal cell functions."

"Lans Taylor and Alan Waggoner broke new ground when they created BDS and Cellomics, helping to build a foundation not only for their own companies, but for the life sciences industry in western Pennsylvania," said Doros Platika, M.D., PLSG President and Chief Executive Officer. "At the PLSG, we are pleased to play an integral role in the formation of Cellumen by providing a headquarters location and the necessary support. We are confident that these two regional life sciences leaders will continue to advance the interests of the entire region's life sciences community by taking their visions to new levels through Cellumen."

At the outset of its formation, Cellumen will occupy 560 square feet of laboratory and office space at the PLSG Incubator facility and employ Dr. Taylor and Dr. Kenneth A. Giuliano, a principal scientist. It is anticipated that the company will employ 5-6 individuals by the end of its first year of operation.

Dr. Taylor was honored as one of the PLSG's first Life Sciences Pioneers in February 2004 for his many contributions to the life sciences in the region. He has published more than 140 scientific papers, served as editor to several books and has received several national and international awards and is among the first of Pittsburgh's life sciences entrepreneurs.

Source: Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse

Pittsburgh-based Agentase, LLC’s Nerve Agent Sensor was named one of the 10 “Greatest Army Inventions” of the past year by the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command. The Sensor is a hand-held device that rapidly changes color in the presence of a contaminant such as sarin, one of many nerve agents that are feared to be used in chemical warfare or terrorist attack.

The invention is based on research performed by Alan J. Russell, Ph.D., professor of surgery and professor of petroleum and chemical engineering at the University of Pittsburgh, and was funded by the U.S. Army Research Laboratory and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA).

The team being recognized includes Dr. Russell, who also is director of the University of Pittsburgh’s McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine; Stephen J. Lee, Ph.D., and Robert Campbell, Ph.D., both of the U.S. Army Research Office, a part of the U.S. Army Research Laboratory; Larry Pollack of DTRA; and Keith LeJeune, Ph.D., a former student of Dr. Russell’s and chief executive officer of Agentase, which he and Dr. Russell co-founded. They will receive the award at a ceremony June 23 at the Hilton McLean Tysons Corner in McLean,Va.

Dr. Russell’s research has focused on the interface between enzymes and materials like polymers. As such, the Agentase Nerve Agent Sensor makes use of the pH-dependent catalytic activity of enzymes that have been embedded in a polymer sponge-like material. If contamination is detected, within seconds the sponge changes color from yellow to red.

Beyond its high sensitivity to nerve agents, the Nerve Agent Sensor also is resistant to environmental factors, such as high temperatures, and interference from other compounds. It has a two- to three-year shelf life and is compatible with all testing surfaces. The sensor already is in use in Iraq.

Nominations for the U.S. Army Greatest Inventions Program were submitted from across the Army laboratory community and evaluated by soldier teams from the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command and active U.S. Army divisions. The entries were judged based on their impact on Army capabilities, potential benefit outside the Army and their inventiveness.

Source: Agentase, LLC