When we last checked in with Jason Rose, assistant professor of medicine and biomedical engineering (center) in the summer of 2018, he had just licensed a technology he had helped to develop in the lab of Mark Gladwin, Chair of the Department of Medicine, to form a startup called Globin Solutions. (Gladwin is pictured on the left, with Globin's chief scientific officer Jesus Tejero on the right.) Rose had taken advantage of updated university policy that allows faculty to take a role in startups created from their own research. Globin was one of a record 23 spinouts to emerge from Pitt in fiscal year 2018. The company had recently raised a $5 million financing, and Rose was looking forward to preparing for pharmacology studies on the compounds being developed to act as an antidote to carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning, which affects roughly 50,000 people a year in the U.S. and results in approximately 2,000 deaths. Let’s check in on the progress since then:
Innovation Institute: So what has been keeping you busy over the past 18 months?
Jason Rose: We’ve been on a strong pre-clinical development pathway and looking at multiple molecules for CO scavenging. This has included optimizing manufacturing processes, developing the drug delivery platform, and conducting safety testing.
We have also been continuing to develop new technology and intellectual property through a sponsored research program with the University and licensing that IP.
We are also very excited to soon move beyond the “virtual company” phase. We are preparing to make our first full time hire, a development operations manager.
Innovation Institute: What is new on the funding front?
Jason Rose: We just announced that we received a Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. The award that we received offers up to $1,750,000 in funding and was in partnership with the University. Using this additional funding, we will test whether modified hemoglobin-based molecules can be used to make a CO scavenging agent.
The STTR application process scrutinizes your science and your business plan with rigorous peer review. Being awarded the grant gives you a some validation that your business model and science are feasible in the market and wider scientific community. And, of course, the STTR grant provides a large amount of non-dilutive funding to advance your development program aggressively.
Innovation Institute: What’s next for Globin?
Jason Rose: We will continue pursuing our pre-clinical work so that we can eventually proceed to human trials on our initial drug candidates. Ultimately, we want to expand to become a specialty pharmaceutical focusing on creating different antidotes related to chemical poisoning and other inhalational lung injuries.
We fully intend to grow the company here in Pittsburgh. I personally plan to continue taking advantage of the flexibility the University offers for researchers to participate in startups. It has enabled us to be successful in advancing our science and growing the company.
Innovation Institute: What are some of the hurdles or challenges to growing a life sciences startup in Pittsburgh?
Jason Rose: While the biotechnology industry is growing in Pittsburgh, one limitation is that there currently are not a lot of large life science companies in the region. Pittsburgh has world leading companies in artificial intelligence, robotics and other information technology, but it hasn’t yet reached that point with biotechnology in the same way that, for example, Boston or San Francisco has. We are generating more startups, and that is the good news, but Pittsburgh still lacks certain infrastructure that is critical for getting to the “next level” as a biotechnology leader. For instance, as a growing company, we’ve found that there are limited opportunities for wet lab space in the city to grow our research program outside of the University.
I’m optimistic, however, that there is a concerted effort to bring more infrastructure, like laboratory space, to Pittsburgh. That will be critical to allowing companies like Globin to grow. We appreciate all the effort made by the University to invest in the community to help Pittsburgh become one of the next biotechnology hubs.
If you are a Pitt researcher with a discovery that may have potential to improve people's lives, consider participating in the First Gear commercialization program. You will receive mentoring and funding to assist with exploring the commercial potential of your innovation. The next cohort begins May 14, 2020.
