This Women’s History Month, Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JLABS @ Washington, DC is turning the spotlight to Dr. Sherine Chan, co-founder and CEO of Neuroene Therapeutics.
Neuroene Therapeutics, a spin-out company from the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) and now a resident company of JLABS @ Washington, DC, is developing a new treatment for mitochondrial diseases and epilepsy. Chan and her co-founder, Dr. James Chou, combined their expertise in mitochondrial biology and medical chemistry to develop a compound that targets mitochondrial protection for antiseizure activity.
“The Epilepsy Foundation states that 1/26 people will develop epilepsy in their lifetime. Approximately 1 million people in the US with active epilepsy are pharmacoresistant, meaning they do not have good control of their seizures with 2 or more antiseizure medications (ASMs),” said Chan.
To address this challenge, the company conducted a target zebrafish phenotypic screen for antiseizure activity and discovered that the central moiety of Vitamin K had antiseizure activity. They then tested several forms of Vitamin K and found that the smallest analogs had antiseizure activity. Neuroene Therapeutics has an exclusive license agreement for this technology, which has been funded entirely through non-dilutive funds, mostly from National Institute of Health (NIH) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grants.
Neuroene Therapeutics aims to bring to patients a well-tolerated, non-sedating, brain-penetrating, fast-acting, and chronic oral drug with potent broad-spectrum antiseizure efficacy that targets a new mechanism of action (mitochondrial protection) and is complementary to the ASMs on the market.
The company has also screened their compounds on preclinical models of Parkinson's disease and found that their analogs are effective in protecting against locomotor defects in these models, as well as prevent dopaminergic cell loss associated with Parkinson's.
In 2023, Neuroene Therapeutics is raising $10 million for IND-enabling studies and Phase I clinical trials for their lead clinical candidate for Dravet syndrome, for which the company received FDA Orphan Drug Designation status. They also have an NIH grant that should be coming online soon for testing their candidate on organophosphate nerve agent exposure models.
Chan shared that her company applied to become part of JLABS because of the dedicated mentorship from Johnson & Johnson and BARDA, as well as access to the global Johnson & Johnson Innovation network, JLABS residency (lab and workspace), and dedicated equipment including high-end specialty research equipment.
“We have had a fantastic experience so far and are very happy to be a part of the JLABS family!” said Chan.
Additionally, the campus’ proximity to policymakers and healthcare federal agencies, such as BARDA, NIH, and FDA, as well as universities and academic research centers, is an advantage for the company.
Neuroene Therapeutics is a resident company at Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JLABS @ Washington, DC, which helps unleash the potential of innovators’ early scientific discoveries by providing state-of-the-art infrastructure (lab and offices), assigning a mentor to provide guidance, offering access to the investor community, and delivering training program to support startup executives. Interested in learning more? Connect with our team to discuss incubation, collaboration, or investment opportunities.
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