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ImStar Therapeutics is a private biotechnology company headquartered in Vancouver that is developing new approaches to treat patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

The company is developing compounds directed at a proprietary new therapeutic target for ALS discovered by co-founder Dr. Jean-Pierre Julien called TANA (i.e. TDP-43 Associated NF-kB Activation). The lead drug candidate, IMS-088, is a novel small molecule compound targeting the NF-kB activation pathway currently in preclinical development for ALS.

IMS-088 is the first in a series of novel compounds derived from withaferin A (WA), a natural withanolide isolated from the leaves of the winter cherry plant (withania somnifera).  In preclinical animal studies, WA showed promise but lacked suitable pharmacologic characteristics to be developed as a therapeutic drug.

Therapeutics targeting the TANA pathway could treat multiple neurodegenerative diseases expressing TDP-43 pathology such as ALS, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Dementia.

TAR DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43) was recently identified as a major disease-associated protein in ALS. Under normal conditions, TDP-43 regulates RNA and is predominantly localized in the nucleus. However, in ALS-affected neuronal cells the protein is misprocessed resulting in aggregation in the cytoplasm and a loss of motor function.

A recent discovery has shown that, in patients with ALS, TDP-43 unexpectedly associates with and activates nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), an inflammation-regulating protein. This leads to exaggerated immune responses and motor neuron destruction. Inhibition of the pathway in an ALS disease model produced substantial improvements in disease and motor function illustrating this is an important new drug target.

Novel Withanolides

ImStar chemists have designed novel withanolides related to WA that have superior drug like properties. IMS-088 is the lead drug candidate in this series that is currently being developed for ALS. These compounds are covered by a new composition of matter patent filing.

TANA Inhibitors

ImStar is also developing various approaches to block TDP-43 activity and has identified novel single chain variable domain antibody fragments (scFv) that inhibit TDP-43 and block it's associated NF-kB activation. 

Kairos Therapeutics has developed a proprietary next generation antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) platform based on novel toxin, linker and site-specific conjugation technology. Kairos has demonstrated superior pre-clinical in-vivo efficacy over T-DM1. Further pre-clinical studies demonstrate Kairos’ ADCs have superior tolerability and therapeutic index, compared to other leading platforms which may lead to greater clinical efficacy. Through key partnerships, Kairos is developing a novel therapeutic pipeline and is out-licensing its ADC platform to companies seeking access to state-of-the-art technology.  

Naegis, based in Vancouver, British Columbia, is developing novel, small-molecule leukotirene synthesis inhibitors (LTSIs) for serious inflammatory conditions.  The Company is currently focused on two proprietary programs: 

o topical and oral therapy for Uveitis, a condition that is responsible for 10% of legal blindness in the US and for which there are limited therapeutic options. 

o oral therapy for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD),  a serious lung disease with increasing rates of mortality.

Naegis has developed a large library of LTSIs that are potent inhibitors of either 5-LO or LTA4H.  The Company is currently identifying a lead compound for selection for futher development for ocular disease, in particular Uveitis.

The Company is also advancing a series of compounds that are novel structures and highly selective and potent inhibitors of LTA4H, which are expected to be developed as new therpaies for COPD

Naegis is seeking pharmaceutical partners and capital investment to advance more rapidly their novel programs.

The National Research Council- Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP) is a Canadian federal government program that offers financial and advisory services to accelerate the growth of businesses through innovation and technology. Regarded worldwide as one of the most successful programs of its kind, NRC-IRAP is a vital component of Canada’s innovation system

Novelogics Biotechnology Inc. has developed unique next generation antibody immunotherapies for treating multiple types of advanced cancers including colon and prostate cancers.  Immunotherapies for cancer are anticipated to be a $35B per year industry in the upcoming years.  

Cancer Drugs with Safety in Mind

From the beginning the novel and specific design of the therapeutic antibody drug minimizes the potential for autoimmune diseases or harming good cells with the bad.  We are dedicated to making cancer treatments that won't make you sick to get you better.

Unecumbered, Founder Owned

Novelogics has developed their assets in an unecumbered envriornment allowing investors to work directly with the team.  At this time the companyis 100% founder owned and undiluted.  Novelogics is anticipating an early exit and has begun discussions with pharmaceutical companies interested in this area.

In addition; a related Medical Device

In addition to the drug, Novelogics has a second PCT Patent pending for a related medical device with a readily available "go to" market in place. 

PlantForm Corporation is a Canadian company formed in 2008 to commercialize a low-cost, plant-based manufacturing platform for monoclonal antibodies, protein drugs and vaccines for cancer and other critical illnesses.

The company’s technology platform provides several advantages over mammalian cell culture and other fermentation systems used to produce most biologic drugs on the market today: it’s fast, efficient, highly versatile (for new product development) and easily scalable. Best of all, it’s capable of reducing manufacturing costs for life-saving drugs by up to 90 per cent.

PlantForm licenses its technology from the University of Guelph, where it was developed by Dr. J. Christopher Hall, a PlantForm founder and the company’s Chief Scientific Officer. Dr. Hall held the Canada Research Chair in Recombinant Antibody Technology from 2002 to 2014 and is a leading authority in the field. All relevant intellectual property is protected by patent filings.

PlantForm’s pipeline features both innovator and biosimilar products, including:

• biosimilar trastuzumab, a plant-produced version of the $6-billion breast cancer drug Herceptin® (animal studies successfully completed, human clinical trials scheduled for 2014, market entry anticipated 2017)

• biosimilar versions of two additional oncology drugs with combined annual global sales of $11.4 billion (2010)

• innovator antibodies for HIV/AIDS, funded by the Government of Canada and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

• recombinant butyrylcholinesterase (rBuChE), an enzyme used as preventative medicine for people vulnerable to attack by nerve agents, organophosphates or other stimulants ($1.8-million contract with the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and $800,00 contract with Defence Canada)

Precision NanoSystems Inc. (“PNI”) has developed proprietary technology (NanoAssemblr) and companion Reagent Kits (SUB9KITS) that enable the simple manufacture of novel nanoparticles that are used to delivery genetic and small molecule medicines (nanomedicines). Nanomedicines are the "FedEx" of the health-care industry and are used for cell-specific delivery of research tools, diagnostic imaging agents and drugs to study, diagnose and treat disease. PNI's products are commercialized and in high demand from many of leading RNA and small molecule therapeutic biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies.  http://www.precisionnanosystems.com/products/

Pulse Infoframe Inc strives to improve workflow using computer-assisted capture of patient data for specialists – our cloud based software enables better local and global sharing of the data for those who need it to make decisions – our end-user driven tools analyze the data to advance knowledge and thus patient care. Data can be directly entered into our system, and because we sit on top of any EMR system we access additional data that is not otherwise easily accessible. Once accessed, the data is de-identified, aggregated and mined producing meaningful information for our end-users. 

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We have applied our solution in various clinical verticals including speciality clinics (Melanoma, Oncology, Neonatology, etc), Imaging and PACS systems (with INFINITT PACS, ClearCanvas, etc) and clinical trials (tracking prostate cancer, Pharmacovigilance, economics, etc). Modules are versatile and can be templated to be used in a variety of systems for achieving the best workflow possible.

Sitka Biopharma is a preclinical stage company focused on developing a breakthrough nanoparticle platform technology designed to increase absorption of drugs in difficult-to-penetrate tissues. Initially targeting oncology indications, we are developing our lead candidate to address the absorption challenge of intravesical chemotherapy for bladder cancer, and later intraperitoneal delivery for ovarian cancer.

We have demonstrated preclinical proof-of-concept for our lead candidate using in vivo and ex vivo models for bladder cancer.
Our goal is to complete our IND in 2015 and begin a Phase 1/2a Proof-of-Concept clinical trial in nonmuscle-invasive bladder cancer in 2016.

Partnership Opportunities for Platform Technology:

Our nanoparticle platform technology offers unique benefits over other nano-delivery systems and has the potential to be combined with a variety of different drugs to improve absorption for therapeutic uses in both humans and animals.

Benefits of Sitka's HPG nanoparticle platform include:

• unimolecular structure
• small size (8-10 nm)
• tailored for a high degree of localized drug bioavailability in large surface applications
• potential utility with a wide variety of drugs and indications

We welcome opportunities to collaborate with biopharmaceutical companies that wish to take advantage of our platform technology.