UMD spinout Reversal Therapeutics Inc., a preclinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing molecules to neutralize and remove a wide range of agents from the body, has joined the Mtech Ventures incubator.
“We are excited to have a vibrant, young company like Reversal Therapeutics in our program,” said Rob Cohen, program manager of Mtech Ventures. “With promising technology and a talented team, we’re happy to support Reversal Therapeutics as they start their journey to help save lives and build a successful venture.”
Reversal Therapeutics’ lead drug binds to, reverses, and eliminates neuromuscular blocking agents (NMBAs) used for anesthesia before surgical procedures.
“NMBAs are medications that temporarily paralyze skeletal muscles by blocking the transmission of nerve impulses at the neuromuscular junction,” said Reversal Therapeutics CEO Anthony Schwartz. “We are developing broad spectrum drugs to reverse these drugs for rapid patient recovery from surgeries.”
Faster recoveries also mean streamlined hospital processes, enabling facilities to conduct more surgeries in less time.
“Our compound will be able to reverse all three forms of anesthesia used in hospitals today,” said Eric Broyles, co-founder and chairman of Reversal Therapeutics.
In the future, the company plans to investigate the use of its compound to counter abused drugs, including opioids, non-opioids, and designer drugs.
“We believe that our product has the potential to grab drugs and reverse their effects,” said Broyles. “It also pulls them from the body and eliminates them.”
Lyle Isaacs, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at UMD, and co-founder, consultant, and chief scientific advisor for Reversal Therapeutics, invented the company’s technology, called sulfated pillararenes. Reversal Therapeutics has exclusively licensed the technology from the university.
According to Broyles, proximity to both UMD scholars and resources led the company to the Mtech Ventures incubator. “Mtech Ventures offers good programming and support for its companies,” he added. “The incubator also has really good facilities for early stage companies.”
Reversal Therapeutics raised $750,000 in its pre-seed round of funding, including a $300,000 TEDCO MII Company Formation award, $125,000 from the University of Maryland Discovery Fund, and private investment.
The company is now working on product optimization.
“We plan to conduct an additional set of pre-clinical studies testing the ability of our compound to reverse all three forms of anesthesia,” said Broyles. “Those studies will be used to support going into clinical trials for humans.”
Reversal Therapeutics plans to engage in its seed round of funding later this year. The company is open to potential collaborations.
