Michigan’s Aursos wants a bear-hug on bear-based osteoperosis drug

KALAMAZOO, Michigan — Something is stirring around Aursos, the sleepy biotech that uses proteins from black bears to develop an osteoporosis treatment.

“We may no longer be around,” said Don Zinn, the company’s chief executive, saying only that his company is close to a collaborative deal with a mid-sized pharmaceutical firm to “test-drive our drug.”

Aursos has been raising cash since the middle of last year — literally, $50,000 here and another $50,000 there — until reporting this week that it has raised more than a half-million dollars and plans to raise up to $1.3 million, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. After it lands that level of funding, it could start a larger A-Series fund-raise and begin clinical trials, Zinn said.

The 2-year-old company uses the parathyroid hormone proteins in black bears to strengthen bones. Company co-founder Seth Donahue gathered samples for initial tests by crawling into the caves of hibernating bears to draw their blood and determine why the animals’ bones remained strong despite long sedentary periods.

The technology is licensed from Michigan Technological University, and the company has worked with the business accelerator, The Apjohn Group.

Zinn said the early studies showed that Aursos’ drugs are equivalent to Eli Lilly’s osteoporosis treatment Forteo, which uses a synthetic version of the human parathyroid hormone. But the Aursos drug also has benefits including increased bone-strengthening. The company also is doing some animal studies.

[Flickr photo courtesy of Matt and Bess]