MetaCyte Business Lab - INVENTORS - AN INVENTOR'S STORY: PRADAMA INC. (502/569-1020)

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AN INVENTOR'S STORY: PRADAMA INC.

William M. Pierce, Ph.D.
Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Professor of Chemistry, Pradama Inc.

The Pradama Story

Pradama (it means to mend, or to heal, in Estonian I am told) is the latest incarnation to come from my labs.

We have been conducting research to develop potential anti-osteoporosis drugs that decrease bone tissue loss and even rebuild bone for 20 years. The first patent that was awarded to us, several years ago, attracted some attention from a Japanese pharmaceutical company, but ultimately, the company made a business decision to target another area.

As our research led to better drugs and new patent applications, we received consistent, sometimes enthusiastic interest but inconsistent funding from NIH and big pharma.

We formed Pradama along with MetaCyte two years ago. MetaCyte is a true partner, not just an advisor. Not only was a business plan written, but real collaborative work was done to establish a solid plan and a network of people to execute the plan.

Today, Pradama has completed a round of fundraising, and we look forward, in the future to clinical trials and ultimately to approval of new drug products for human use. The hope is that with every step you make along the time axis and with every milestone you reach, you will get corresponding exponential growth in the value of the company.

Working with MetaCyte

There are a lot of scientists who are truly entrepreneurial individuals, but many are uncomfortable sharing their ideas in the arena provided by the marketplace. It is a delicate dance - especially at first. As University scientists we have a public trust, a responsibility to share the new knowledge that we have gained with the world. Yet we want to preserve the rights to benefit from such discovery for our Universities and ourselves. Our initial steps into this unknown world causes people from my side to play things close to their chest and not share things that we need to share. For scientific discovery to benefit anyone, the ultimate users or the inventor, it needs to become public - but in the right way.

These initial concerns have been put to rest in dealing with MetaCyte. The key is in structuring the partnership so that when you work together, everyone wins.

The professionals at MetaCyte are great to work with. After twenty years of partnering with various interests to advance our discoveries -- we have a partner that is helping us get things done.

From the Mind to the Marketplace.