One of the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research’s longest running departments is being spun off as a private, for-profit business enterprise based on the massive body of work the department has accumulated in female reproductive and related health issues.
SFBR president John Kerr, who first envisioned the concept, said the new company, Evestra Inc., is receiving all of the assets, personnel, and scientific know-how of the Foundation’s Organic Chemistry Department, an internationally recognized research group in steroid chemistry, together with start-up funding from SFBR. In addition to funding provided by SFBR, which will initially be the majority shareholder of the new company, Evestra is raising a first round of financing primarily from San Antonio-area investors.
Evestra is being built on the department’s 30-plus years’ experience in the discovery and synthesis of novel steroid compounds used in a wide range of female healthcare applications, including contraception, gynecological diseases, hormone replacement therapy, and hormone-dependent breast cancer.
Dr. P.N. Rao, the distinguished chair of the department, is teaming with Dr. Ze'ev Shaked, the former chief operating officer and head of R&D at ILEX Oncology, who will serve as president and CEO of Evestra, and with Dr. Klaus Nickisch, the former senior vice president of Schering AG in Germany, who will serve as Evestra’s chief scientific officer. Both Drs. Shaked and Nickisch hold Ph.D.s in Organic Chemistry.
By combining SFBR’s steroid synthesis capabilities with the extensive drug development track record of Evestra’s management, Evestra is commercializing a pipeline of products in fertility control, hormone replacement therapy, and oncology.
“Over the past 50 years at SFBR, Dr. P.N. Rao has been one of the world’s foremost experts on steroid chemistry and women’s fertility and cancer,” said Kerr. Dr. Rao, who became chairman of the Organic Chemistry Department in 1977, later was given the Foundation’s highest honor, being named “Senior Scientist” and receiving from the Board of Trustees the Maltese Cross, symbolic of intellectual acuity. “The lifetime body of work he has created and the incredible breadth and depth of his knowledge are invaluable assets to Evestra,” Kerr added.
“Dr. Rao and his team’s superb record in designing and synthesizing novel steroids has been recognized by the National Institutes of Health and by his peers around the world,” said Dr. Shaked. “So the spin-off of his department into Evestra, especially when combined with the experience of the management team that’s in place, creates a truly exciting opportunity.”
Dr. Shaked said the company has the scientific know-how, the leadership, and the experience in the steroid world that are needed to “hit the ground running. That allows us immediately to execute our business plan based on the development and commercialization of steroid-based pharmaceuticals, giving Evestra great potential for success. And as Evestra becomes successful, that will benefit SFBR, as well as the San Antonio community.”
The Pipeline
Evestra is pursuing a capital-efficient short-term and long-term drug development strategy. The short-term strategy is based on the reformulation of existing, approved steroid-based pharmaceutical products. The long-term strategy involves the in-house development of novel steroidal drugs based on the expertise of its organic chemistry team.
The leading drug candidate, a reformulated oral contraceptive, involves seeking an accelerated approval from the FDA. Four additional drug development candidates support the company’s strategy of having “multiple shots on goal” – like a soccer team shooting at the goal five times instead of just once – to increase the odds of success.
In addition to the leading candidate, the Evestra team also is working on:
- Developing novel progestin drugs for fertility control
- The reformulation of a hormone replacement therapy with a superior safety profile
- Finding a new drug candidate for endometriosis and fibroids
- Developing new drugs to prevent the recurrence of breast cancer
Along with its primary focus of developing a solid pipeline of pharmaceutical products, Evestra will generate revenue from the synthesis of steroids for the National Institutes of Health pursuant to a contract SFBR has had for over 30 years, which is being transferred to Evestra.
Evestra Website
