Young innovators were in the spotlight yesterday as Forbes unveiled its annual 30 Under 30 series. Several of the Science and Healthcare honorees, selected by Forbes reporters and a panel of expert judges (comprising a Yale University professor of medicine, the head of basic research at Sanofi and a Harvard Medical School professor of genetics), are not just researchers but entrepreneurs as well.
Here’s a look at six young companies founded by honorees, or based on research discoveries they’ve been a part of.
ReXceptor – 30 Under 30 nominee Paige Cramer co-founded ReXceptor with fellow Case Western Reserve University researchers after discovering that the FDA-approved cancer drug bexarotene reduced levels of beta-amyloid plaque in mice with Alzheimer’s. Earlier this year, ReXceptor was looking for funding for a phase 1 clinical trial.
Neuromatic Devices – MIT PhD student Suhasa Kodandaramaiah (@bksuhasa), along with two professors at Georgia Tech, built a robot that automates the cumbersome process of measuring electrical activity inside of brain cells. They formed Neuromatic Devices to make it available to scientist and researchers.
Spiral Genetics – Adina Mangubat and two University of Washington classmates founded Spiral Genetics in 2009 to help scientists make sense of the raw data generated from genome sequencing.
Rock Health – Now in its fourth session, the digital health accelerator has helped startups like Pipette, which was later bought by Ginger.io, and Docphin, through the commercialization process. Harvard MBA graduate Halle Tecco (@halletecco) and three classmates founded the San Francisco-based program, which expanded to Boston this year.
Blend Therapeutics – Pedro Valencia, a PhD student at MIT, was one of the students who worked with Robert Langer, Omid Farokhzad and Stephen Lippard to develop a way to synthesize nanoparticles quickly for drug discovery. That technology is the basis of Blend Therapeutics, which today announced a $16 million Series B financing.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
Audax Health – The flagship product of this startup, which is in development, is an anonymous social network where patients can connect with each other and consult with experts. Grant Verstandig (@grantverstandig), age 23, founded the company and recruited a former head of the National Cancer Institute, a former Aetna chairman and a former Apple CEO to the board.
[Photo from imagerymajestic]
