SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Accelerator Corporation, a privately held biotechnology investment and development company, announced today the formation of Recodagen Corporation, the seventh company in the Accelerator portfolio. The syndicate of investors leading the Series A investment in Recodagen included Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Amgen Ventures, ARCH Venture Partners, OVP Venture Partners and WRF Capital.
The company’s technology is based upon the discovery of a novel class of disease targets. The first therapeutic indications that the company will pursue are for solid tumors in cancer. Recodagen’s technology was discovered and developed in the laboratory of J. Suzanne Lindsey Ph.D. at Washington State University and Texas Tech University.
The first lead target appears to facilitate tumor cell invasion and dissemination which result in the lethal part of cancer known as metastasis. Recent studies have shown that targeting the growth of tumors is not sufficient to prevent recurrence of the disease because invading tumor cells are not affected by growth inhibiting treatments. “To our knowledge, this target is the only known tumor cell-specific protein that increases tumor cell invasion which makes it an important area of research with significant implications for diagnostic and therapeutic developments,” states Dr. Lindsey.
Dr. Lindsey was most recently an Associate Professor in the College of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, at Washington State University, and has published more than 14 peer-reviewed scientific papers on cell-specific gene expression and the function of the expressed proteins. Prior to her tenure at Washington State University, Dr. Lindsey was an Assistant Professor at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, School of Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences Department. Dr. Lindsey joins the Recodagen team as Vice President of Discovery and spearheads the company’s research efforts. Recodagen is located within the Accelerator Corporation facility in the Eastlake section of Seattle, Washington.
“I am excited to have Accelerator support my technology and Recodagen,” added Dr. Lindsey. “RNA transcripts that were previously thought to be non-coding may actually have therapeutic utility. We have proprietary methods to identify and characterize such transcripts. With the expertise and backing of Accelerator, we will be able to rapidly demonstrate the proof of concept and develop products that will ultimately benefit human health.”
“We are pleased to support Recodagen as Accelerator’s seventh overall investment and the first investment in the Accelerator III portfolio,” said Chad Waite, a Managing Director at OVP. “We believe that this technology goes well beyond the standard molecular biology dogma. It will be exciting to explore novel methods of drug discovery for targets that were previously unappreciated.”
“We believe Dr. Lindsey’s research has the potential to have a major impact on how cancers are diagnosed and treated in the future. Her technology represents a shift in the gene-expression paradigm and may lead to novel and effective therapeutics in the oncology treatment arena,” said Dr. Howard Grimes, Vice President for Research and Dean of the Graduate School at WSU. “It is fulfilling to be a part of basic science entering the commercial realm and having an impact on human health,” he added.
About Accelerator Corporation
Accelerator Corporation, founded in 2003, is a privately held biotechnology investment and development company located in Seattle, Washington, USA. The company is building the next generation of life-enhancing biotechnology companies by providing the resources critical to accelerating the development of nascent leading-edge biotechnologies. These key resources, provided by global life science leaders -- Amgen Ventures, ARCH Venture Partners, OVP Venture Partners, Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc., WRF Capital, and the Institute for Systems Biology -- include committed capital from top-tier venture capital firms, state-of-the-art facilities, world-class scientific and technical expertise and support, and experienced biotechnology start-up business management and support. For more information, please go to: www.acceleratorcorp.com.
Contact:
Accelerator Corporation Jessica Strain, Senior Associate, Operations 206-957-7300 jstrain@acceleratorcorp.com
Source: Accelerator Corporation
