Emory University's Office of Technology Transfer will celebrate its faculty entrepreneurs and their innovative discoveries at the 11th Annual Celebration of Technology and Innovation.

The celebration was held Thursday, March 2nd at the Emory Conference Center. 

Emory Annual Celebration Winners 2017:

Innovation of 2016:
Frog Skin Peptides as Inhibitors of Influenza and Zika Virus

Joshy Jacob, PhD (microbiology/immunology)
Song Hee Lee, PhD (Emory Vaccine Center)
David Holthausen (microbiology/immunology)

Emory researchers have found that peptides secreted through the skin of frogs native to southern India have potent anti-viral effects against influenza and Zika virus strains. Peptides from Hylarana malabarica effectively limit proliferation of H1N1 influenza strains, and peptides from Hylarana aurantiaca are effective against the Asian, African and South American Zika virus strains. These peptides have the potential to be developed into potent antiviral therapeutics.

Deal of 2016:
Carrick Therapeutics – CDK Inhibitors

Dennis Liotta, PhD (chemistry)
James Snyder, PhD (chemistry)

Emory executed a High Net Worth License agreement with Carrick Therapeutics for highly selective cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors. Because of the role of specific CDKs in the regulation of the cell cycle, they have been identified as important targets for the design of drugs with antimitotic, antineurodegenerative, antiviral and antitumor effects. Emory researchers identified a series of CDK inhibitors being developed by Carrick Therapeutics to treat aggressive forms of cancer in under-served populations. Carrick closed a Series A round of financing, generating over $90 million in 2016. 

Start-up of 2016:
Clearside Biomedical, Inc.

Henry Edelhauser, PhD (ophthalmology)

Clearside Biomedical, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing first-in-class drug therapies to treat chronic, blinding diseases of the eye. The company's current focus is on diseases affecting the choroid and retina, especially diseases associated with macular edema. Clearside-developed medications are injected non-surgically into the suprachoroidal space with a micro-injector and are targeted specifically to the retina to improve the effectiveness of the drug while reducing side effects. In 2016 Clearside raised $50M in its initial public offering. The company also announced the first patient enrolled in a Phase 1-2 clinical trial of Zuprata^TM in diabetic macular edema. In December the company was added to the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index (NBI). 

Significant Event of 2016:
FACBC (Axumin) Reaches Market

Mark Goodman, PhD (radiology, Winship Cancer Institute)

Several years ago Emory researchers developed 18F-fluciclovine, or FACBC, a radiotracer agent with strong imaging capabilities for brain cancer and a longer half life than the standard radiotracer. After a series of preliminary licensing agreements, in 2016 the biotech startup Blue Earth Diagnostics guided the imaging agent, now named Axumin^TM, through the required steps to FDA approval for the detection of recurrent prostate cancer. Axumin^TM also received an FDA “orphan drug” designation for the diagnosis of glioma in 2015, and research into several other applications of the radiotracer continues at Emory.