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Press Release
February 7th,2008
February 7, 2008.
FirstString is proud to announce that Dr. Paul Ehrlich, Ph.D. has agreed to join its Scientific Advisory Board.
Dr. Ehrlich is currently the Director for the Wound Healing Research Laboratory in the Division of Plastic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Hershey Medical Center at Penn State University.
“We are very excited to have an expert of Dr. Ehlrich’s stature and experience joining our team,” said Spencer F. Robert, CEO of FirstString. Dr. Ehrlich joins FirstString’s Scientific Advisory Board which includes Dr. Jon Perlin, M.D., Chief Medical Officer of HCA. He has held Academic or Hospital appointments at Harvard, MIT, Mass General, and Cambridge, among others. Dr. Ehlrich is a founding member of the Wound Healing Society, has authored over 100 publications on wound healing and s a recognized expert in scar formation.
About FirstString.
FirstString is a biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of therapeutics for scar prevention and tissue regeneration. There is a significant unmet medical need for the prevention of scarring resulting from surgeries and injuries. FirstString is endeavoring to meet that need by developing a class of compounds which form the platform of this exciting technology.
FirstString's proprietary therapies modulate intercellular communication to significantly reduce the development of scar tissue and, at the same time, improve the body's ability to produce healthy, functional cells. The lead compound's target is well expressed and has shown efficacy in many tissue types including the skin, spinal cord and internal organs.
FirstString's first commercial product will be a topical gel for the prevention of scarring. Based on the consistent and positive early results, FirstString has already received regulatory approval in Europe to enter clinical phase testing.
By PR Newswire - Press Release
CHARLESTOWN, S.C., Feb. 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- First-String Research, Inc. (FSR), a spin-off biotechnology company from the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), has begun the human clinical trial process for its unique, wound-healing peptide gel. Already past the preliminary approval stages, the "First in Man" trial will take place in Switzerland thanks to the assertive attention of Swiss investors. Initial preclinical studies have suggested the gel's efficacy and safety in regenerating new tissue, instead of scar tissue, in order to heal wounds better and faster than any product currently on the market.
In the clinical trial, four different doses of the gel will be administered to study participants with deep wounds. Those wounds will be examined periodically, and positive results from the study could put FSR's wound-healing gel one step closer to FDA approval. Currently, there are no mechanistically-based products approved by the FDA that can reduce or eliminate scarring and promote wound regeneration. "We have received an enormous amount of positive feedback from the investment community at large, including industry experts who were astonished at what we were able to achieve with such little funding," said Gautam Ghatnekar, Ph.D., FSR President and co-inventor of the gel peptide. "This product truly marks a paradigm shift from healing with a disfiguring scar to encouraging normal tissue regeneration."
It was in the lab of Robert Gourdie, Ph.D., MUSC professor of cell biology and Clemson professor of bioengineering, that the original peptide was created. Now on the FSR board of directors, Gourdie remains excited about the potential of technology he co-invented with Ghatnekar. "This peptide has tremendous potential in all body situations that involve healing because it regulates and modifies intercellular communication at the site of the wound," he said.
Since the company began a few years ago, FSR has been pleasantly surprised by the feedback from the investment community concerning its product.
Recently, FSR was chosen as one of four finalists among 40 companies that competed for the chance to present their work to the investment community across the Southeast during the Southeast Biotechnology Forum (SEBIO).
"SEBIO is the premier venue in the Southeast for young life sciences companies to test their marketability, and as such, we are privileged to have been selected as a finalist," said FSR CEO Spencer Robert. "We went through multiple review processes, each conducted by a mixture of successful entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and other industry experts. The publicity and interest we received from the event was invaluable. Our secret is definitely out."
Additionally, FSR is collaborating with MUSC on a National Institutes of Health-National Institute of Diabetic Digestive Kidney Diseases grant to study the peptide in treating diabetic wounds. The two entities are also working together on examining the peptide's efficacy in treating spinal cord injuries. This work is in the preliminary stages and has not yet progressed to clinical trials. The Office of Naval Research has also expressed interest in FSR's technology, which may be used to develop projects that will look at how the peptides could be used to treat injured soldiers on the battlefield.
How it works: The skin's wound repair process is initiated immediately after injury and involves inflammation, proliferation, scar production, and tissue remodeling. One of the common complications in wound healing is excessive scarring. Gourdie and Ghatnekar developed the bioengineered peptide based on a naturally occurring protein in the body that helps regulate communication between cells. This peptide accelerated wound healing and tissue regeneration with significantly reduced scarring in laboratory animal tests, and leads researchers to believe that it will promote faster healing, reduced scarring, and restoration of more normal looking skin during human clinical trials.
About MUSC
Founded in 1824 in Charleston, The Medical University of South Carolina is the oldest medical school in the South. Today, MUSC continues the tradition of excellence in education, research, and patient care. MUSC educates and trains more than 3,000 students and residents, and has nearly 10,000 employees, including 1,300 faculty members. As the largest non-federal employer in Charleston, the university and its affiliates have collective annual budgets in excess of $1.3 billion. MUSC operates a 600-bed medical center, which includes a nationally recognized Children's Hospital and a leading Institute of Psychiatry. For more information on academic information or clinical services, visit www.musc.edu or www.muschealth.com.
This news release was issued on behalf of Newswise(TM). For more information, visit http://www.newswise.com.
Charleston, SC, November 21, 2007------FirstString Research, Inc., a development stage biotechnology company developing therapeutics for scar reduction and improved healing, was selected as one of four finalists at the 2007 Southeastern BIO Investor Forum for early stage life science companies. The event was held at the Pinehurst Resort November 7-8, 2007.
Over 40 life science companies in the Southeast applied to competition. During the SEBIO Forum, participants introduced their early-stage companies to selected advisory teams, which then chose four to participate in the Early-Stage Shootout. Those four companies then had the opportunity to present to the entire conference, as well as a panel of judges made up of venture capitalists and industry experts. FirstString is the first company from South Carolina ever chosen as a finalist.
“SEBIO was happy to provide FirstString with the opportunity to present their exciting technology to our full conference audience,” notes Stephanie Adams, Executive Director of Southeast Bio. “The goal of this program is to spotlight the region’s most promising opportunities and allow them to gain exposure to and receive mentoring from active early-stage investors.”
“SEBIO is the premier venue in the Southeast for young life-science companies to test their marketability. As such, we are privileged to have been selected as a finalist,” said Spencer Robert, CEO of FirstString. “We went through multiple review processes, each conducted by a mixture of successful entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and other industry experts. The publicity and interest we received from the event was invaluable - our secret is definitely out.”
About FirstString
FirstString Research, Inc. (FirstString), located in Charleston, SC, is developing a class of peptide-based therapeutic drugs, which reduce inflammation and scarring, for use in acute and chronic wounds, as implant coatings and in other specialized therapeutic areas. FirstString’s lead candidate, a topical scar-reduction formulation, is preparing to enter its clinical Phase I trial.
Contact:
Spencer F. Robert
CEO
FirstString Research, Inc.
Robert@FirstStringResearch.com
+1 (843) 860 8372
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