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Wednesday, December 16, 2009
The Pitch
Signablok aims to condense virus evolution, discover new drug solutions
By Brendan Lynch
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Alexander Sigalov says his biotech startup, Signablok, is the result of a billion-year development process.
The startup has developed a drug-discovery platform that could lead to drugs that mimic the way a virus enters a cell. Sigalov is taking a billion years of virus evolution and tweaking it to help develop peptide-based alternatives to large-molecule drugs. His startup, Signablok, is working on a platform researchers could use to design treatments using peptides in place of large molecule-based drugs. Sigalov’s technology, which he developed as a researcher at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, silences intracellular signals. Drugs made from the platform could be used to treat thrombosis, sepsis, Crohn’s Disease and others.
“It reveals the basic principal of how to design those drugs,” Sigalov said.
The company has already identified a candidate to treat thrombosis, which is the formation of blood clots. Sigalov is looking for $1 million in seed funding to build its management team and develop six drug candidates in partnership with UMass Medical and an international thrombosis research consortium.
While at UMass, Sigalov discovered how cell receptors communicate with the interior of a cell through the cell membrane. Using that knowledge, he developed the “signaling chain homo-oligomerization” (SCHOOL) method of silencing intracellular communication.
Receptors on white blood cells known as T cells, for example, are linked to conditions such as psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis. So blocking signals from getting through the receptor into the T-cell would treat those conditions. About 20 or 30 conditions are controlled by similar receptors and could be treated by drugs created through the Signablok platform, Sigalov said.
“If we understand the molecular mechanism, we can control and influence the mechanism,” he said.
Peptides made with the platform can be taken orally, do not trigger an immune response, and should be cheaper to manufacture, Sigalov said. He has been researching thrombosis for 20 years.
Headquarters: Chelmsford
Web: www.signablok.com
Email: sigalov@signablok.com
Founded: 2009
Employees: 1
The Pitch: Signablok is looking for $1 million in seed funding.
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