In June 2008, Diagnostic HYBRIDS and Case Western Reserve were recipients of a $5 million grant from the Ohio Third Frontier Biomedical Research and Commercialization Program (BRCP) to accelerate the commercial development of a suite of diagnostic products using the yeast vector technology, including products and services related to HIV, hepatitis and influenza.
ATHENS, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Diagnostic HYBRIDS and Case Western Reserve University have signed an exclusive worldwide licensing agreement granting Diagnostic HYBRIDS rights to a novel yeast-based virus cloning technology invented by noted Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) researcher Eric Arts, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine. The technology provides a platform of diagnostic tests used by physicians and researchers to monitor the success of anti-HIV treatment by determining drug resistance and disease “strength” of the virus. The technology can also be used for academic research to better understand this virus and to develop better vaccines.
In June 2008, Diagnostic HYBRIDS and Case Western Reserve were recipients of a $5 million grant from the Ohio Third Frontier Biomedical Research and Commercialization Program (BRCP) to accelerate the commercial development of a suite of diagnostic products using the yeast vector technology, including products and services related to HIV, hepatitis and influenza.
“We have enjoyed a long-standing partnership with Case Western Reserve University and their scientists in multiple virology technologies, always consistent with our joint vision to create a center of excellence for virology in Ohio,” said David R. Scholl, Ph.D., President and CEO of Diagnostic HYBRIDS. “This licensing agreement, our most recent success in combining our effort to win support from the prestigious Third Frontier Program, and the unusually high skill, collaborative talent, and overall commercial leadership on this project will prove pivotal to our translating the science into commercial opportunity for Diagnostic HYBRIDS and jobs in Ohio.”
“This agreement has the potential to benefit millions of people across the globe,” said Arts. “The ongoing collaboration between our organizations has achieved a significant milestone in the diagnostics of AIDS and offers tremendous potential for vaccine developments.”
Diagnostic HYBRIDS’ global headquarters are located in Athens, Ohio. A research and development laboratory was opened in Cleveland, Ohio to expedite the development of the project and houses a specialized team of HIV researchers. “Proximity of our HIV development team, located nearby in Midtown Cleveland, to the inventive group at the School of Medicine has been critical to progress throughout this collaboration,” according to Scholl. “Paired with our state of the art bio-manufacturing facility in Athens, the Cleveland facility provides Diagnostic HYBRIDS multiple commercial and collaborative options going forward.”
Paul Olivo, M.D., Ph.D., Vice President of Research at Diagnostic HYBRIDS, indicated that from a product pipeline development perspective Dr. Arts’ innovative yeast vector technology is a major competitive edge for the company to enter multiple, new biomedical services opportunities. “Clearly, we are very excited to be working with Dr. Arts, his team and Case Western Reserve on this new technology which will advance and improve the management of HIV patients and promote the development of new therapies for HIV and HCV as well as better vaccines for influenza,” Olivo said. “However, our first development target for this technology is to develop the best diagnostic tools for battling the worldwide and epidemic expansion of HIV.”
Miguel Quinones-Mateu, Ph.D., joined Diagnostic HYBRIDS from his academic post at the Cleveland Clinic and has directed the HIV Program in Cleveland since its inception in 2006. “When fully validated for clinical use, this novel vector platform will allow Diagnostic HYBRIDS to enhance the care and treatment for HIV-infected patients in Ohio as well as the rest of the world.” According to Quinones-Mateu, “entering 2010, we will begin introducing our unique products and services to HIV physicians, pharmaceutical drug companies developing the next generation of effective drugs, and national laboratory service organizations that interact with both groups.”
About Diagnostic HYBRIDS
Diagnostic HYBRIDS invents, develops, manufactures, and sells innovative diagnostic and analytical products for a wide range of viral respiratory diseases, herpes virus infections, and other specific viral and thyroid diseases. The company also develops and commercializes innovative and genetically engineered cell-based detection products for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry, with an initial focus on pharmacology assays and products that measure drug clearance and anti-viral interventions with drugs and vaccines. The company is certified to ISO 13485 standards and manufactures live continuous and primary cell cultures for clinical diagnostics and pharmacology assays from its headquarters in Athens, OH. Diagnostic HYBRIDS was named one of the 500 Fastest Growing Companies in America in 2004 and 2005 by Inc. Magazine. The company is a pillar member of BioOhio, a statewide organization of bioscience companies accelerating the bioscience and healthcare economy in Ohio. For more information, please visit www.dhiusa.com.
About Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
Founded in 1843, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine is the largest medical research institution in Ohio and 15th largest among the nation’s medical schools for research funding from the National Institutes of Health. Eleven Nobel Laureates have been affiliated with the school.
The School of Medicine is recognized throughout the international medical community for outstanding achievements in teaching and in 2002, became the third medical school in history to receive a pre-eminent review from the national body responsible for accrediting the nation’s academic medical institutions. The School’s innovative and pioneering Western Reserve2 curriculum interweaves four themes--research and scholarship, clinical mastery, leadership, and civic professionalism--to prepare students for the practice of evidence-based medicine in the rapidly changing health care environment of the 21st century.
Annually, the School of Medicine trains more than 600 M.D. and M.D./Ph.D. students and ranks in the top 25 among U.S. research-oriented medical schools as designated by U.S. News & World Report Guide to Graduate Education. The School of Medicine’s primary clinical affiliate is University Hospitals and is additionally affiliated with MetroHealth Medical Center, the Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, with which it established the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University in 2002. http://casemed.case.edu.
