New Ventures
The TTO has had a number of successful licensing programs arising out technologies developed at the Center resulting in new products and new ventures. A few examples are highlighted below.
Ikaria Inc.
Ikaria Inc. is a new start-up company founded by Dr. Mark Roth, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Arch Venture Partners in 2005. Dr. Roth, a basic sciences researcher at the Center, has been researching metabolic control for 16 years. Ikaria will develop treatments for critically ill patients in the setting of hypoxic/ischemic injury building on Dr. Roth's original research on inducing reversible metabolic hibernation in animals (Science. 2005 Apr 22;308(5721):518). Ikaria's platform could have a broad impact in the fields of neurological, cardiovascular, critical care, surgical, and organ transplant medicine.Ikaria has received a substantial investment from ARCH Venture Partners, Venrock Associates, 5AM Ventures, Aravis Ventures and the Washington Research Foundation, some of the country's leading early stage life science investors. Early funding for the research came from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. The company has obtained an exclusive worldwide license for the technology from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
For more information see Buying Time Through 'Hibernation on Demand'.
Targeted Growth
Targeted Growth, based in Seattle, WA, was formed in 1999 to commercialize technologies discovered at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the University of Washington. The Company was granted exclusive license to two growth regulation genes to develop products for the agriculture to achieve significant yield increases in commercial crop and for animal husbandry industry to control cell growth and size. TGI established a major partnership with agricultural products giant, the Monsanto Company, in July 2005. In May 2006, Targeted Growth raised $10 million private financing from new and existing investors, which brings the total capital raised to $17.4 million.
Read additional news about Targeted Growth.
Cell Therapeutics
Cell Therapeutics' founding technology was developed at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and exclusively licensed to Cell Therapeutics. Founded in 1991, the Company's headquarter is in Seattle, WA with research and development facilities in Seattle and Bresso (Milan), Italy.
Cell Therapeutics' cancer drug development pipeline includes a next generation drug candidate for each of the four leading classes of chemotherapy agents — anthracyclines, camptothecins, platinates, and taxanes. The Company presently have two products in late-stage clinical development-XYOTAX™ and pixantrone, and a robust clinical and preclinical product pipeline.
This is a publically traded company on the NASDAQ exchange (symbol: CTIC).
Rosetta Inpharmatics LLC
Rosetta Inpharmatics LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Merck & Co. Inc., was founded in 1996 to design and implement DNA microarray gene expression technologies. The company's leading-edge genomic research and data analysis efforts focus on how medical compounds affect biology, enabling more accurate selection of drug targets and more efficient drug development. The founders Stephen H. Friend, M.D. Ph.D, Leland Hartwell, Ph.D., and Leroy Hood, M.D., Ph.D. are all former employees of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
In June 2000, Rosetta Inpharmatics successfully deployed its first commercially available bioinformatics system, the Rosetta Resolver® Gene Expression Data Analysis System. The Rosetta Resolver system was introduced to meet the demand for high-level gene expression analysis within the life sciences industries. It remains the flagship product of Rosetta Inpharmatics' business unit, Rosetta Biosoftware.
This is a publically traded company on the NASDAQ exchange (symbol: RSTA). The Company raised approximately $116 million from its initial public offering in August 2000. Rosetta Inpharmatics was acquired by Merck & Co. Inc in 2001.
