Signase developed novel, small molecule inhibitors of a critical cell replication pathway to inhibit tumor growth. It was spun out of the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. The company’s assets were acquired by Systems Medicine Inc. in 2005.
Signase
Sensys Medical
Sensys developed a non-invasive blood glucose monitor that used near infrared diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The technology was designed to provide a painless method to collect data for proactive use in controlling diabetes.
Selventa
Selventa (formerly known as Genstruct) is focused on the application of computational systems biology to drug discovery and development. The company elucidates the mechanistic understanding of complex, molecular data through collaborative projects, licensed software products and the strategic development of well-differentiated pharmaceutical portfolios in a variety of disease areas. The company’s platform technology, called Systems Diagnostics (SysDxTM), is based on a “big data” analytics engine, which identifies disease-specific biomarkers through the use of proprietary algorithms that integrate a comprehensive range of complex biological information (genomic, epigenomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, metabolomic, electronic medical records). Selventa’s unique ability to incorporate and analyze such information enables it to generate a clinically relevant dashboard that physicians, patients and researchers can use to make an optimal treatment decision or to stratify patient populations.
Pappas Ventures originally invested in Incellico, which was acquired by Genstruct (now Selventa) in July 2003.
Rotation Medical
Rotation Medical is a medical device company advancing the treatment of rotator cuff disease with the Rotation Medical Rotator Cuff Repair System, a commercially available solution with clinical evidence that demonstrates the ability to induce the growth of new tendinous tissue. Rotation's core technology combines a unique, proprietary bioinductive implant and a set of novel, arthroscopic disposable instruments that allow the procedure to be preformed quickly and reproducibly. The company received 510(k) clearance from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its implantable bioinductive implant technology in March 2014.
Rotation Medical was acquired by Smith & Nephew plc in 2017 for $125 million in cash plus $85 million in potential milestone payments.
Curis
Curis (NASDAQ: CRIS) is the product of a three-way merger in 2000 of Pappas Capital portfolio company Reprogenesis with Creative Biomolecules and Ontogeny. The company was initially focused on regenerative medicine, but has evolved to become a leader in targeting signaling pathways – especially those involved in different cancers. The company’s so-called Hedgehog pathway inhibitor vismodegib is now being marketed in collaboration with Genentech.
Reneo Pharmaceuticals
Reneo Pharmaceuticals is a clinical-stage start-up company, co-founded by Pappas Capital, focused on developing treatments for rare metabolic disorders
Plexxikon
Plexxikon is a leader in the discovery and development of novel, small molecule pharmaceuticals using its Scaffold-Based Drug Discovery Platform™. The company has built a robust and diverse pipeline of clinical and preclinical stage programs in a number of therapeutic areas including oncology, CNS, inflammation and metabolic disease. At the time of Plexxikon’s acquisition in 2011 by Daiichi Sankyo, its lead product, PLX4032, was in a Phase 3 trial for treating patients with metastatic melanoma with BRAF mutation. PLX4032 was approved shortly thereafter by the FDA, and is marketed by Roche under the brand name Zelboraf in the U.S. and other countries.
For a riveting account of the progression of the clinical trials that ultimately resulted in the approval of Zelboraf, see “A Roller Coaster Chase for a Cure” and two related articles published by the New York Times in February 2010.
Plexigen
Plexigen developed a proprietary 3-D biochip designed to significantly enhance the capacity, efficiency, accuracy and automation of gene screening.
Peninsula Pharmaceuticals
Peninsula Pharmaceutical’s lead product, doripenem, was approved by the FDA in 2007 – about two years after Peninsula was acquired by Johnson & Johnson for approximately $250 million. At the time of that transaction, Peninsula had initiated six Phase 3 clinical trials with doripenem, a broad-spectrum antibiotic aimed at treating hospital-acquired pneumonia, complicated urinary tract infection and other intra-abdominal infections.
Panacos Pharmaceuticals
Panacos was engaged in the discovery, development and commercialization of small molecule drugs to treat or prevent serious infectious disease. Its lead antiviral product was PA-457, which at the time was the first in a new class of drugs to treat HIV infection. Pappas Ventures teamed up with Ampersand Ventures to take Panacos public via a reverse merger with V.I. Technologies in 2005.
The rights to Panacos’s HIV program were acquired by Myriad Pharmaceuticals in 2009.
