ProteaPex Therapeutics was founded in 2011 by Marina D'Angelo, PhD. Dr. D'Angelo has more than 30 years of experience studying the scaffold for cells and tissues called the extracellular matrix (ECM), and how its degradation leads to disease.
In addition to her 20-plus years as a faculty member at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic
Medicine (PCOM), Dr. D'Angelo has held appointments at the University of Pennsylvania,
Temple University and Cooper School of Medicine at Rowan University.
Dr. D’Angelo and her colleague, Abdulhafez Selim, MD, PhD, invented a novel approach to preventing degradation of the ECM using peptides to block the binding of matrix metalloprotease enzymes. Encouraged by being a finalist in the Science Center’s QED competition, she assembled a team of experts to create ProteaPex Therapeutics. The spinout company holds a global license agreement with PCOM.
ProteaPex Therapeutics holds broad-based patents detailing the peptide-based disruptive technology that can accommodate a platform of products with specificity for different molecules of the ECM and tissues. Their technology platform covers a wide range of applications to improve outcomes in degenerative diseases, wound healing and cosmetic procedures.
ProteaPex Therapeutics’ lead molecule, Extracellular Matrix Protection Factor-1 (ECPF-1), is an innovative disease modifying therapeutic technology designed to treat osteoarthritis. An intra-joint injection of ECPF-1 is safe, reduces pain and cartilage damage, and improves mobility in an animal model of osteoarthritis. ECPF-1 also has shown promising results in cultures of osteoarthritic chondrocytes harvested from humans undergoing joint replacement therapy.
The company is currently focused on developing locally delivered peptide inhibitor therapeutics for other diseases, including periodontal disease (ECPF-2) and pulmonary fibrosis (ECPF-3). ProteaPex Therapeutics' strategy for developing therapeutics is to target the veterinary market first for an early exit that will provide supporting clinical data for the human drug FDA application and financial support for the longer commercialization path necessitated by developing a human therapeutic.
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