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January, 2010
Charleston Business Journal
November 4th,2009
A Charleston-based biotech startup is receiving a $200,000 investment today at the Small Business Innovation Summit & Expo at Trident Technical College in North Charleston.
SC Launch, a collaboration with the S.C. Research Authority, is making the investment in FirstString Research Inc., which is developing a product for scar prevention and tissue regeneration.
“The support we’ve received from SC Launch even goes beyond the equity investment we’ve received from them,” said Gautam Ghatnekar, FirstString’s president and CEO. “SC Launch has brought the right resources to the table. This investment, along with SCRA, SC Launch and additional in-state angel support, has helped us double in size over the last six months, enabling continued growth for us here in South Carolina.”
FirstString Research was one of the first recipients of funds from SC Launch as part of the Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I Matching Grant Program. SC Launch client companies have secured more than $71 million to date in follow-on venture capital and private equity funding.
“With peptide-based intellectual property licensed from the Medical University of South Carolina, FirstString is the exact archetype of how we want to support bio-related commercialization in partnership with our in-state research universities,” said Bill Mahoney, chief executive of SCRA.
FirstString’s first commercial product will be a topical gel for the prevention of scarring. Based on early results, FirstString has already received regulatory approval in Europe to enter clinical phase testing.
SC Launch assists startup companies with upfront counseling, seed funding and access to a resource network. SCRA is an applied research and commercialization services company with offices in South Carolina, Ohio and the Washington, D.C. area.
ColumbiaBusinessReport.com
August 24th,2009
Several years ago, two researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina stumbled upon a technology that seemed to help wounds heal faster. In fact, their discovery not only speeds healing, but it has shown to significantly reduce or prevent scarring. After extensive research efforts, Drs. Gautam Ghatnekar and Robert Gourdie (who is also a professor of bioengineering at Clemson University), licensed the technology from MUSC and established the startup biotechnology company FirstString Research.
FirstString’s lead commercial product is a topical, peptide-based gel that can keep the body from scarring and promotes the regeneration of damaged tissue, particularly if application is begun within 24 hours of the injury....
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Press Release
February 12th,2009
CHARLESTON, SC – February 6, 2009 – FirstString Research, Inc. a biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of therapeutics for scar prevention and tissue regeneration, announces the appointment of Jim McNab as executive chairman of the company.
New to FirstString, McNab will provide strategic business plan implementation and capital strategy alongside FirstString’s President and CEO, Gautam Ghatnekar, for the high-growth, high-tech start-up company. McNab earned an MBA from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and a BA from Davidson College. He served in the U.S. Army in the Office of General William C. Westmoreland at The Pentagon.
He has more than 35 years of experience as a business executive, founder and manager of successful companies in emerging technologies in the biotechnology, energy and medical industries. He has a strong track record of moving newly-licensed products into the marketplace. Most recently, McNab was chairman of Argolyn Bioscience and still serves as a board member. Argolyn recently received additional venture capital financing. The company maintains R&D offices near the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston.
FirstString Research was one of the first SC Launch companies to secure SC Launch funding. Both Argolyn and FirstString are recipients of early-stage investments from SCRA’s SC Launch and have subsequently obtained follow-on private capital funding.
“We are pleased and excited to have Jim on board at FirstString,” said Gautam Ghatnekar, Ph.D., FirstString President and CEO. “Jim has extensive experience and a great success record in biotech. He adds even more credibility to our team.”
“I look forward to implementing strategic direction for FirstString,” said McNab.” The company has an extremely robust product in clinical testing that has the opportunity to be the pinnacle in wound healing and regenerative medicine.
Bio of James R. McNab
James R. McNab has served as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Palmetto Pharmaceuticals, Inc., formerly eNOS Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately-held drug discovery company of which he is a co-founder. In addition, Mr. McNab is a co-founder of other privately-held companies, including Curis, Incorporated, Sontra Medical Corporation, a drug delivery company, Parker Medical Associates, a manufacturer and worldwide supplier of orthopedic and sports-related products, and Vidus Ocular, Inc., an early-stage company developing a medical device for the treatment of glaucoma. Since July 2006, Mr. McNab has served as Director of Argolyn Bioscience, Inc., privately-held biopharmaceutical company. Mr. McNab received a B.A. in economics from Davidson College and an M.B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
About FirstString Research, Inc.
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. For further information, please visithttp://www.firststringresearch.com/.
About SCRA http://www.scra.org/
SCRA is a global leader in applied research and commercialization services with offices in Anderson, Charleston and Columbia. SCRA collaborates to advance technology. SCRA provides technology-based solutions with assured outcomes on behalf of industry, government, and research universities like Clemson University, the University of South Carolina and the Medical University of South Carolina.
About SC Launch! http://www.sclaunch.org/
SC Launch, an SCRA collaboration, assists entrepreneurial start-up companies with up-front counseling, seed-funding, and access to a powerful resource network. The SC Launch! mission is to help generate knowledge economy jobs in South Carolina, enhance the state’s quality of life and provide opportunity for all South Carolinians in the new economy. For more information please visit http://www.sclaunch.org/.
For Media Inquiries:
Dr. Gautam S. Ghatnekar
President and CEO - FirstString Research, Inc.
ghatnekar@firststringresearch.com
843-860-8785
Press Release
January 13th,2009
Charleston, SC – January 13, 2009 – FirstString Research, a biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of therapeutics for scar prevention and tissue regeneration, is today announcing that Carl Ehmann, MD joins the Scientific Advisory Board. Dr. Ehmann was Executive Vice President for Johnson & Johnson Consumer Products, and the former Global Head of R&D at Reckitt & Coleman.
“Dr. Ehmann’s experience as a research and development leader of several large multi-national companies and his familiarity with advising both early stage and established companies will be an invaluable asset to FirstString,” said Dr. Gautam Ghatnekar, President and CEO of FirstString. “Due to our promising early clinical studies, we are now in a position to attract pioneers in the field of wound care.”
FirstString is currently conducting its Phase I clinical trial in Switzerland.
“This is an exciting time to be joining FirstString’s Scientific Advisory Board,” stated Dr. Ehmann. “I am delighted to be part of the ongoing development of this exciting new wound care product.”
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. For further information, please visit http://www.firststringresearch.com.
For Media Inquiries:
Dr. Gautam S. Ghatnekar
President and CEO - FirstString Research, Inc.
ghatnekar@firststringresearch.com
843-860-8785
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.
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