Florida Institute Funds Jupiter-based BlinkBio

GAINESVILLE, Fla. and BOCA RATON, Fla., March 1, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Florida Institute for the Commercialization of Public Research (the Florida Institute) announced today that it has finalized a funding agreement with BlinkBio, a Jupiter-based company with technology developed at The Scripps Research Institute. The Florida Institute supports new company creation based on publicly-funded research, and bridges early funding gaps for companies spinning out of Florida-based universities and research institutions.

BlinkBio has assembled a proprietary suite of assets for the development of novel Drug Conjugate therapies for the treatment of cancer and other diseases called Tunable Drug Conjugates (TDCs).  TDCs are capable of enhanced tumor penetration, rapid payload release and faster systemic clearance following dosing and are designed to drive higher payload concentrations within tumor cells while minimizing toxicities to patients.

"The development of antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) has already provided a valuable contribution to the treatment of cancer by enabling the targeted delivery of therapeutic payloads inside cancer cells," said Colin Goddard, Ph.D., BlinkBio, Chief Executive Officer. "At BlinkBio we are exploring next generation improvements to drug conjugate therapy through our TDC platform and the funding agreement with the Florida Institute will help us pursue our goal of improving treatment outcomes for patients worldwide."

"BlinkBio is charting a course for improved treatment of cancer and other diseases and has amassed a talented and experienced management team to navigate breakthrough therapy from the bench to the patient bedside," said Jackson Streeter, MD, Florida Institute Chief Executive Officer.   

About the Florida Institute

Formed by the Florida Legislature in 2007, the Florida Institute for the Commercialization of Public Research is a non-profit organization that works collaboratively with the technology licensing and commercialization offices of Florida's state universities and private research institutions to leverage a $2.5B+ research base and form investable companies that create clean jobs in new industries that are driving the global economy. The Institute provides company building services, and seed funding through the Florida Technology Seed Capital Fund, to promising Florida startups. Sixty-three companies have been funded to date, and the Institute's economic impact through June 30, 2016 was $630 million, with an annual return on investment of 22 times to the State of Florida.

About BlinkBio  

BlinkBio is a biotech company which was formed to exploit Bioorthogonal Linker ("Blink") chemistries for the discovery and development of novel drug conjugate therapeutics in oncology and other disease settings. Over the last two years they have focused on exploring the favorable and tunable characteristics of proprietary silicon based linker chemistries in the development of unique SiLinker and Payload Cassette platform for the incorporation into novel drug conjugates. An exclusive option agreement to license Dual Variable Domain-Fab (DVD-Fab) technology from The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) provides a proprietary means of specifically binding a broad array of cell surface proteins with the aim of delivering powerful anti-cancer medicines inside the tumor cell.

CONTACT:
Jane Teague
Chief Operating Officer
Institute for the Commercialization of Public Research
561-368-8889
[email protected]

SOURCE Florida Institute for the Commercialization of Public Research

Related Links

http://www.florida-institute.com