A company developing potential treatments to help heal damaged hearts and muscle wounds has exclusively licensed patents that will help move the protein therapy closer to actual patients. In 2008, NellOne Therapeutics was spun out of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) contractor UT-Battelle by Battelle Ventures to probe the potential of a gene that showed promise in helping to restore damaged tissues in patients who had suffered from heart attacks or muscle-related injuries. Battelle Ventures invested $1.5 million in R&D, which has shown enough promise for the company to license three patents associated with the research, explains Cymbeline “Bem” Culiat, founder of NellOne and discoverer of the Nell-1 gene’s role in controlling tissue growth and maturation in mammals. “We’re in the process of completing the wound healing studies and some other studies the company started with other funding from ORNL,” Culiat says. “[NellOne is] committed to taking the licenses and pursuing the wound therapy.”
With proof of principle nearly complete, the company plans to carry out an array of follow-up experiments to determine exactly how the gene works and how to develop a therapy from it. NellOne estimates a potential market of more than $3 billion. To continue the work, the company plans to pursue a Series A round of funding — likely $12 million to $20 million, says Tracy Warren, NellOne CEO and general partner at Battelle Ventures. In addition to the ORNL licenses, which establish NellOne’s platform discovery, the company is pursuing other potential applications of the genetic research. NellOne may commercialize some therapies on its own while partnering with outside companies on others, according to Warren. “We hope to have some announcements this summer,” she says.
Sources: Knoxville News Sentinel and Newswise