Neurexis Therapeutics awarded $250K Colorado Advanced Industries Accelerator Grant
Wednesday June 3, 2020 0 comments
AURORA -- Neurexis Therapeutics, Inc. announced it has been approved for funding as part of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade’s (OEDIT) Advanced Industries Accelerator Program.
The $250,000 Early Stage Capital and Retention Grant will be used to accelerate development of the company’s innovative therapeutic peptide for the prevention of brain damage following cerebral ischemia.
This includes the loss of blood flow to the brain caused by stroke, cardiac arrest, sickle cell anemia, congenital heart defects, high-risk vascular surgery, coronary disease, and other complications.
Neurexis was formed by VIC Technology Venture Development in early 2020 based on the efforts of Dr. Ulli Bayer at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus to create an optimized drug called tatCN19o, which dramatically reduces both the brain cell death and behavioral problems resulting from cerebral ischemia.
This is especially relevant to the current COVID-19 pandemic given that a significant side-effect of SARS-CoV-2 infection is an alarming incidence of strokes in otherwise healthy individuals in their 30s, 40s, and 50s.
A neuroprotective option for stroke would lessen the brain damage and long-term health impacts from the loss of circulation that the virus appears to cause.
“Neurexis is the first of what we hope will be many startup companies that we create and invest in here in Colorado to develop innovation created by the state’s universities, institutes and national labs,” said Dr. Michael Artinger, CEO of Neurexis and EVP and managing director of VIC.
“That fact that Professor Bayer’s technology had received prior commercialization support from the State and University through their BDEGP and SPARK programs was a compelling factor during our due diligence, and will likely hold true for other investment opportunities that we evaluate in the future.
“We look forward to continuing to partner with OEDIT to advance early, but promising Colorado-grown healthcare innovation.”
“Colorado’s Advanced Industries Early Stage Capital and Retention Grant program is designed to fuel innovations that solve market needs, can be created or manufactured in Colorado and be exported globally,” said Katie Woslager, senior manager of advanced industries at OEDIT.
“Colorado’s AI program helps bioscience companies explore the far-reaching impact of medicine and Neurexis embodies the dramatic impact that innovation has on the standard of care in times of pandemic crisis or for the daily betterment of society.
“These advancements perfectly illustrate the economic and social impact of Colorado’s Advanced Industries program.”
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