Southern Research has awarded more than $2.7 million to eight biotech companies through its new Therapeutics Development Fund.
The grants are expected to add more than 24 jobs, including for two out-of-state companies that have committed to move to Alabama.
“The Therapeutics Development Fund is playing a critical role in our effort to enhance the biotech industry in Alabama by supporting innovators who are already here and those who are willing to move here,” said Josh Carpenter, Ph.D., CEO of Southern Research. “We are excited to leverage our 80 years of experience and expertise to support startups who want to advance their programs in Birmingham’s rich biotechnology ecosystem.”
Initial awardees for the Therapeutics Development Fund:
- Yuva Biosciences (Birmingham): Yuva Biosciences is addressing the root cause of aging – mitochondrial dysfunction. It is a biotech spinout of the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
- SCORE Pharmaceuticals (Huntsville and Birmingham): SCORE Pharmaceuticals is an early-stage biologics company focused on immuno-oncology therapeutics with a proprietary patent-pending platform called CoreXTM, which allows the transformation of existing antibody therapies into more potent and targeted antibody therapeutics.
- Southern Biological Solutions (Birmingham): Southern Biological Solutions is a life sciences and biotechnology company focusing on the creation and development of anti-microbial biologic therapies for wound healing and the prevention of infections in wounds in people and animals. It will be located in the Southern Research Station 41 incubator.
- Celestia Diagnostics (Birmingham): Celestia Diagnostics is focused on developing diagnostics for long COVID-19 infection and for latent virus infection in general. The company moved to Birmingham from Austin, Texas, as one of three initial members of Southern Research’s Station 41 incubator.
- DomainOne (Virtual company): DomainOne is developing small molecule therapeutics for systemic sclerosis (scleroderma); however, the therapy is also viable for cancer and for fibrosis in general. The company is a new startup company launched by Ohio-based Orange Grove Bio, seeded with technology from Southern Research and UAB. It has a location in the Southern Research Station 41 incubator.
- CorriXR Therapeutics (Virtual company): CorriXR Therapeutics is a new startup company that owns patents associated with gene editing technology geared to cancer treatment. It has a location in the Southern Research Station 41 incubator.
- Diamond Therapeutics (Canadian company with Birmingham subsidiary): Diamond Therapeutics is an early-stage therapeutics development company focused on developing novel drugs for mental health conditions. It is located in Canada but has created a new U.S. subsidiary and is registered in Alabama.
- Metaclipse Therapeutics (Atlanta company with plans for Birmingham location): Metaclipse Therapeutics is an early-stage biotechnology and therapeutics development company focused on next-generation cancer immunotherapies and novel vaccines for infectious disease. The company is located in Atlanta; however, it has registered in the State of Alabama and will be located in Southern Research.
The Therapeutics Development Fund is designed to attract biotech firms to Alabama and connect in-state startup companies with resources they need to stay in Alabama, including wet lab space. Southern Research ultimately expects the fund to create 139 biotech jobs, support almost 700 other jobs and create $9 million in economic impact for Alabama.