Lack of Cash May Send Sinapis Pharma to Atlanta
December 29, 2014
By Krystle Vermes, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
Sinapis Pharma, which is one of the first companies to participate in the Start-Up NY tax incentive program, announced today that it will be moving to Atlanta, after a lack of funding kept it from establishing its headquarters in Buffalo, NY.
The drug development company was originally interested in Buffalo because of the opportunity to work with researchers at the University of Buffalo but has now found that the funding and collaboration on offer were not enough to keep it in the area, although Sinapis may still open a small laboratory at the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus.
Taking a Look at Start-Up NY
Start-Up NY is a program designed to help individuals start, expand or relocate their qualified businesses into a tax-free zone in New York State. For 10 years, business owners do not need to pay taxes, and they have access to local university and college resources.
In order for a company to access these utilities, the mission and activities of the business must align with the academic mission of the school. Additionally, the business must maintain its number of new jobs after its first year of operation to remain a part of the program.
The Early Beginnings of Sinapis
Sinapis Pharma considers itself to be a discovery stage biotechnology company dedicated to finding a new use for its lead compound, the drug methamphetamine. The intravenous neuroprotective agent has already been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and Sinapis sees the potential for it to treat patients who have suffered from a stroke, brain injury or other traumatic condition.
The company was initially founded by Howard Chandler and Peter Von Doersten. They have licensed brain treatment technology from David Poulsen of the University of Montana. Thus far, the founders have been able to show through animal trials that intravenous methamphetamine is the most robust pre-clinical stroke drug yet discovered.
Methamphetamine is the only drug known to demonstrate activity in the rat model of stroke between the six to 12-hour therapeutic window. This is also the time frame for beginning treatment in a majority of people who have experienced a stroke.
To confirm Sinapis’ findings, the data has been reproduced in a laboratory in Henry Ford Hospital, which is dedicated to pre-clinical stroke research.