Research Update Newsletter
University startup Midway Pharmaceuticals, Inc. receives $500K in funding
UChicagoTech, The University of Chicago's Office of Technology & Intellectual Property recently announced a financing deal worth $500,000 for Midway Pharmaceuticals, a University- startup working to develop non-antibiotic therapies for hospital acquired infections and for a range of gastrointestinal diseases (GI) including Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis (UC) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The funding was provided by BioAdvance, one of the nation’s leading investors in early stage biotechnology companies.
Founded in 2005 after winning the 2004 University Graduate School of Business’s new Venture Challenge, Midway Pharmaceuticals therapies are based on a proprietary compound, the polymer MDY-1001, developed by University researchers, John Alverdy, Eugene Chang and Elaine Petrof. The compound is delivered orally, lines the gastrointestinal tract and inhibits the pathogenic behavior of GI bacteria.
“The money was raised in a very challenging fund-raising environment,” said Alan Thomas, Director, Office of Technology and Intellectual Property, The University of Chicago (UChicagoTech) whose team helped broker the deal. “Our office worked hard over an extended period with the inventors and with Rif [Rifat Pamukcu, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Midway Pharmaceuticals] to build the intellectual property, create the business plan, and travel the country seeking funding for the project.”
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, each year approximately 2 million patients in the U.S. get an infection while hospitalized, and about 90,000 die as a result. Antibiotic resistance and the body’s inability to fight infection due to an existing condition are at the root of the problem. Instead of killing the infection, MDY-100 makes bacteria ignorant of how sick the host really is so that they don’t attack in the first place.
“It is becoming increasingly clear that the complexity and functioning of our intestinal micro flora play a critical role in many disease processes, including food born illness, inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel disease and hospital acquired infection,” said Dr. John Alverdy, Professor of Surgery, Director, Surgical Treatment of Obesity Program and Principle Investigator for the therapy study. “Trying to maintain the stability of that flora during acute stress, antibiotic use, and world travel is becoming difficult.”
The BioAdvance funding will be used to complete proof-of-concept and safety tests measuring the effects of MDY-1001. Successful completion of pre-clinical testing will position Midway to take advantage of new financing options to complete the necessary preclinical research and advance to IND filing.
“We expect this proof-of-concept money to result in substantial future funding rounds for Midway Pharmaceuticals,” said Thomas. “The technology is truly paradigm shifting and we have high hopes for it.”
