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To help facilitate the
commercialization
of discoveries at The
Feinstein Institute
for Medical Research and
pursue other opportunities
across the the health system,
North Shore-LIJ entered into
an alliance this spring with the
world-renowned Cleveland
Clinic’s venture arm, Cleveland
Clinic Innovations.
“Our scientists are leaders
in their fields, and we believe
that the North Shore-LIJ/
Cleveland Clinic alliance will
help us translate discoveries
made in our labs into
significant patient benefits,”
said Kevin Tracey, MD, the
Feinstein’s president and chief
executive officer. Considering
that it typically takes years
and costs millions of dollars
to move research advances
to market, the partnership
is significant because of
Cleveland Clinic Innovations’
solid track record of advancing
fledgling research and
promising clinical discoveries.
With 55 research
laboratories organized into
11 Centers of Excellence, the
Feinstein has more than 1,500
employees engaged in basic and
clinical research, working to
move discoveries from the lab
to the bedside. The Feinstein
already receives about $60
million annually in research
grants, including about $45
million from the National
Institutes of Health (NIH).
The Bayh-Dole Act of
1980 authorizes universities
and research institutions to
control and commercialize
the patent rights arising
from their research that is
supported by federal grants.
92 Summer 2012
Generally, this is accomplished
by licensing Feinstein patent
rights, either to outside
companies or to new ventures
started by its entrepreneurial
faculty members, which can
support the high cost of
developing and validating new
clinical products. Since the
Feinstein’s founding in 1999,
breakthroughs have led to the
creation of a dozen startup
companies and more than
70 licensing opportunities,
according to Kirk Manogue,
PhD, vice president and
director of the Feinstein’s
Office of Technology Transfer.
Below are some of those
companies and the promising
technologies they are
developing for clinical use.
Established in 1998,
Angion Biomedica Corp. has
licensed Feinstein patent rights
and is developing products
relating to renal transplant
and myocardial infarction.
Since 2005, Angion has
received more than $40
million in NIH Small Business
Innovation Research (SBIR)
funding. Angion scientists at
its multidisciplinary research
and development facility in
Uniondale are advancing
several of its products to Phase
I and Phase 2 clinical trials.
In 2008, Critical
Therapeutics, Inc., cofounded
in 2001 by Dr.
Tracey, with colleagues
from the Massachusetts
General Hospital and the
University of Pittsburgh,
merged with Cornerstone
Biopharma Holdings to create
Cornerstone Therapeutics,
Inc. Cornerstone holds
licensed rights to autoimmune,
inflammatory disease and
critical care treatments that
are based on discoveries made
in Dr. Tracey’s Laboratory of
Biomedical Sciences.
SetPoint Medical,
another faculty startup, is
developing an implantable
neuromodulator under
license from the Feinstein.
This computerized vagus
nerve stimulator is based
on discoveries made in Dr.
Tracey’s laboratory and is
presently in Phase 2 clinical
trials in rheumatoid arthritis.
Under license from the
Feinstein and Cornerstone,
Targacept, Inc. is developing
a drug that acts through
neuronal nicotinic receptors
(NNRs), which are key
regulators of the nervous
system, to treat asthma and
type 2 diabetes. Phase 2
clinical trials are ongoing.
The drug is also based on
discoveries made in Dr.
Tracey’s laboratory.
TissueGenesis, Inc.,
founded in 1998 by Daniel
Grande, PhD, has licensed the
rights to develop products that
enhance bone and cartilage
repair through gene-enhanced
tissue engineering. These
orthopedic implants are based
on research conducted in
Dr. Grande’s Laboratory of
Orthopedic Research.
Cleveland Clinic Alliance to
Enhance Feinstein Institute’s
Commercial Success
TheraSource LLC is a
faculty startup that has licensed
patent rights to develop novel
medicines for the treatment of
sepsis, ischemia/reperfusion
injury and hemorrhagic
shock. TheraSource was
founded by Ping Wang, MD,
who leads the Laboratory of
Surgical Research, the source
of discoveries that are now
licensed to TheraSource for
product development.
T3 Therapeutics is
under license to develop
an experimental thyroid
medication based on
discoveries made at the
Feinstein.