May 02, 2016

Allinaire Therapeutics, a New Biotechnology Start-Up, Launches to Combat Lung Diseases

CLEVELAND AND INDIANAPOLIS – May 2, 2016 – BioMotiv, a drug development accelerator associated with the Harrington Project, and Indiana University Research and Technology Corp. announce the formation of a new biotechnology start-up, Allinaire Therapeutics. Allinaire Therapeutics aims to develop novel therapeutics for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and other pulmonary diseases.

Allinaire Therapeutics is based on discoveries and intellectual property from the Indiana University School of Medicine, developed by scientific founders Irina Petrache, MD and Matthias Clauss, PhD. Dr. Petrache is currently the Chief of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine at National Jewish Health in Denver, and Dr. Clauss is the Associate Research Professor of Cellular & Integrative Physiology at Indiana University.

“We look forward to working with Dr. Petrache and Dr. Clauss to advance their discoveries into breakthrough medicines to help patients with COPD and other pulmonary diseases,” said Baiju R. Shah, Chief Executive Officer of BioMotiv.

COPD is a very common, serious disease, which represents a significant global unmet medical need: it is estimated that COPD will be the third most frequent cause of death worldwide by 2020. The disease is characterized by inflammation and progressive destruction of lung tissue, leading to difficulty in breathing. Allinaire’s scientific founders have discovered a novel therapeutic target that plays a central role in lung inflammation and airway remodeling that lead to COPD. They have demonstrated that a therapeutic antibody against this target has strong potential as a disease-modifying treatment to slow the progression of COPD. “This approach will dramatically change the treatment landscape for COPD,” said Dr. Petrache. “Current therapies provide symptomatic relief, but do nothing to change disease progression.”

“I am excited to collaborate with BioMotiv to translate our novel findings on the underlying mechanisms of pulmonary diseases into therapies that will have a great impact in the clinic,” said Dr. Clauss.

Dr. Petrache is a Harrington Scholar – Innovator whose research has been supported by the Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals in Cleveland, Ohio, which is supported in part by a grant from the Ohio Third Frontier. The laboratories of Dr. Petrache and Dr. Clauss are both funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Their research to develop novel COPD therapies has also been supported by two Small Business Innovation Research awards from the National Institutes of Health.

"It is gratifying that Indiana University discoveries on pulmonary disease therapeutics will reach the public through the partnership with BioMotiv and the launch of Allinaire Therapeutics," said David Wilhite, IURTC director of technology commercialization.

About BioMotiv

BioMotiv is the mission-driven accelerator associated with The Harrington Project for Discovery & Development, a $250 million initiative for advancing medicine centered at University Hospitals at 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 drug development programs. Learn more at www.biomotiv.com.

About Indiana University Research and Technology Corp.

IURTC is a not-for-profit corporation tasked with the protecting and commercializing technology emanating from innovations by IU researchers. Since 1997, IU research has generated more than 2700 inventions resulting in over 3900 global patent applications being filed by IURTC. These discoveries have generated $133 million in licensing and royalty income, including $111 million in funding for IU departments, labs and inventors. Learn more at www.iurtc.iu.edu.