• Press Release

Dual Therapeutics, a New Oncology Start-up, Is Launched by BioMotiv and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Dual Therapeutics is based on intellectual property exclusively licensed from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

  • New York
  • (October 09, 2013)

BioMotiv, a drug development accelerator based in Cleveland, and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, based in New York, are announcing the formation of Dual Therapeutics, a company focused on producing therapeutics for prostate cancer, lung cancer, and acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Dual Therapeutics is based on intellectual property exclusively licensed from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.  The name is based on the investigators’ approach: small molecule modulation of a key tumor suppressor enzyme resulting in simultaneous blockade of two important and common cancer signaling pathways.  They have demonstrated significant in vivo antitumor activity in multiple cancer models. 

The project was initiated at Mount Sinai by lead inventors Michael Ohlmeyer, PhD, Associate Professor of Structural and Chemical Biology, and Goutham Narla, MD, PhD, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Medicine, Hematology, and Medical Oncology at the Icahn School of Medicine and a Harrington Distinguished Scholar and Assistant Professor of Medicine at University Hospitals-Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.  A team of co-founders, including Drs. Narla and Ohlmeyer, Matthew D. Galsky, MD, Neil Dhawan, MS, David Kastrinsky, PhD, and Yiannis Ioannou, PhD, worked closely with BioMotiv to form Dual Therapeutics.

“Working with BioMotiv provides the opportunity to rapidly progress our discovery into the clinic,” said Dr. Ohlmeyer.  “They bring significant pharmaceutical industry experience as well as funding to this company.”  “BioMotiv has been a true partner for us,” added Dr. Narla.

A Mount Sinai team comprising  Dr. Ohlmeyer, Dr. Narla, and Dr. Matthew D. Galsky received a 2012 BioAccelerate NYC Prize in a competition run by the Partnership for New York City (PFNYC), which has worked with the New York City Economic Development Corporation to build a bioscience industry in the city.  The prize enabled the inventors to fund early drug development stages of their research and to position the technology for licensing and company formation. 

“The importance of innovation to improve patient care is paramount here at Mount Sinai,” stated Jeanne Farrell, PhD, Business Development Director for Mount Sinai Innovation Partners (MSIP).  “Dual Therapeutics is based around discoveries made at Mount Sinai by an interdisciplinary team of investigators with expertise in medicinal chemistry, cancer biology, and clinical research.  Partnering with BioMotiv to form Dual Therapeutics will allow a promising finding from academic research initiated at Mount Sinai to advance towards the clinic to the ultimate benefit of patients everywhere.”

“We are excited to initiate this company based on well-developed technology originating from a premier academic research institution,” said Baiju R. Shah, Chief Executive Officer of BioMotiv.  “We are hopeful that the promise it has shown to date will continue as the technology is advanced towards treating patients.”

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About BioMotiv
BioMotiv is the mission-driven accelerator associated with The Harrington Project for Discovery & Development, a $250 million national initiative for advancing medicine centered at University Hospitals of Cleveland.  The focus is to accelerate breakthrough discoveries from research institutions into therapeutics for patients through an innovative model that efficiently aligns capital and collaborations.  The company leverages an experienced team and advisory board to select, fund, and actively manage and advance a portfolio of programs.  Products are advanced to clinical proof-of-concept and then partnered.  BioMotiv is interested in early-stage therapeutics in all disease areas.  Learn more at www.biomotiv.com.

About Mount Sinai Innovation Partners
Mount Sinai Innovation Partners (MSIP), as part of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, facilitates the transfer of discovery from the laboratory to the marketplace, acting as the interface with commercial entities.
Mount Sinai IP is responsible for the full spectrum of commercialization activities required to bring the Icahn School of Medicine’s inventions to life.  These activities include evaluating, patenting, marketing, and licensing new technologies, while also negotiating agreements for sponsored research, material transfer, and confidentiality.  Blue Mountain Technologies is an IP program to enhance distribution of, and product development based on, Mount Sinai’s growing portfolio of novel reagents, diagnostics, and therapeutics.  For more information on Mount Sinai IP, visit: http://www.ip.mountsinai.org.

About the Mount Sinai Health System

Mount Sinai Health System is one of the largest academic medical systems in the New York metro area, with 48,000 employees working across seven hospitals, more than 400 outpatient practices, more than 600 research and clinical labs, a school of nursing, and a leading school of medicine and graduate education. Mount Sinai advances health for all people, everywhere, by taking on the most complex health care challenges of our time—discovering and applying new scientific learning and knowledge; developing safer, more effective treatments; educating the next generation of medical leaders and innovators; and supporting local communities by delivering high-quality care to all who need it.

Through the integration of its hospitals, labs, and schools, Mount Sinai offers comprehensive health care solutions from birth through geriatrics, leveraging innovative approaches such as artificial intelligence and informatics while keeping patients’ medical and emotional needs at the center of all treatment. The Health System includes approximately 9,000 primary and specialty care physicians and 11 free-standing joint-venture centers throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida. Hospitals within the System are consistently ranked by Newsweek’s® “The World’s Best Smart Hospitals, Best in State Hospitals, World Best Hospitals and Best Specialty Hospitals” and by U.S. News & World Report's® “Best Hospitals” and “Best Children’s Hospitals.” The Mount Sinai Hospital is on the U.S. News & World Report® “Best Hospitals” Honor Roll for 2024-2025.

For more information, visit https://www.mountsinai.org or find Mount Sinai on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, and YouTube.

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