Neurofold Introduces a “Goldilocks” Approach to Molecule Testing That Could Speed Up Drug Development
Co-founders Rajeev Kumar, MD, and Sunil Kumar, PhD, bring together a powerful blend of experience in lab research, clinical trials, and drug commercialization. They’re bringing to market an innovative approach to molecule development that could speed up the process of validating treatments for Alzheimer's and related dementias.
Origin Story
Like many founder stories, this one starts with deep frustration.
The frustrated person in this particular story is Dr. Rajeev Kumar, a neurologist who has seen patients for almost 30 years. Over the course of his career he also became an expert in clinical trial design and operations and consulted for many of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies. He was involved in the clinical trials that resulted in the approval of almost every drug for Parkinson’s disease and in every drug in Huntington’s disease.
That experience, though valuable, left much to be desired.
“I've done literally 100 clinical trials in Parkinson’s, and every one that attempted to show disease slowing failed,” says Dr. Kumar. “I understand the problems. We need a whole new approach.”
Dr. Kumar’s clinical trials work may not have led to the outcomes he wanted, but it did turn into a successful business. Over many years he built up a large clinical trials research center and in 2021 it was acquired by a private equity-backed research network.
That exit gave Dr. Kumar the financial freedom to pull back from clinical medicine, look around and decide what his next move would be. While technically he could have gone on vacation for the rest of his life, he knew his work wasn’t finished.
“Helping one patient as a physician is really important and meaningful. Helping develop a new medicine and advancing the science in order to help lots of patients is even more meaningful.”
He started by launching a nonprofit called Movement Disorders Foundation which now gives out grants to junior scientists to support the development of new therapies.
That might have been enough – a nice semi-retirement of giving out grants while planning his next ski vacation. But then he met one particular young scientist and knew he had another great project left in him. His health moonshot journey wasn’t finished.
The Mission-Fit Collaborator
The fateful meeting happened at the University of Denver. Dr. Kumar was in Denver to meet with a scientist who was a grantee from his non-profit. The man was collaborating on a project with a scientist in a neighboring lab named Sunil Kumar, PhD. Rajeev and Sunil (same last name but no relation) struck up an engaged conversation and immediately Rajeev was intrigued.
Rajeev learned that Sunil had built up a flourishing research lab at the University, one that rivaled labs at top universities. He’d won millions in grants, had been published in major journals, and recently won an international research award. This success has since helped him attract a team of 18 academic researchers.
“Most of the labs in science departments at my university have two or three grad students as an average, maybe a postdoc if you have money. Our lab has more than 10 grad students and three postdocs in addition to undergrads,” says Sunil.
“I said, boy, Sunil is a bright guy,” Rajeev recalls. “He’s super motivated, incredibly productive. He's publishing. Plus, he was really on to something new and exciting. I saw the value of the work he was doing and the initial animal model work which was spectacular and better than any I've ever seen.”
Rajeev also recognized their complementary skills. Sunil is a pure scientist, obsessed with his research, with zero experience in business, drug development, or commercialization.
“So I said, Sunil, we can be a really great team in moving this ahead from a science perspective because I can help you with some of the science, how it correlates to the clinic, and I can help on the business and commercialization end.”
It was a partnership based on combining the right experience at the right moment, to build on an exciting new body of work coming out of the University of Denver lab. They named their startup Neurofold and got to work.
Under the Hood
So what was this work happening in Sunil’s lab that caught Rajeev’s eye after 30 years of less-than-successful clinical trials?
Sunil developed a technology that can rapidly generate a library of ligands, which are called synthetic protein mimetics. Rajeev describes it as a Goldilocks approach, because the technology brings together the best properties of antibody therapies and small molecule therapies. As a result, they have an excellent ability to get into the brain (like small molecules) and very specifically bind the key pathological biomolecules which form toxic clumps in the brain. The belief is that this approach could lead to therapies that significantly alleviate the symptoms of various neurodegenerative disorders.
Sunil’s lab has been able to use this platform technology to identify potent lead drugs for Parkinson’s disease, Lewy body dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease. These drugs have shown a very potent effect in improving disease symptoms in multiple disease models, including in mice models.
Next Steps
While Rajeev is already thinking about ways to leverage his pharma network to commercialize Neurofold, he knows that, as with any biotech startup, it will take time and money to validate their work. They’re raising funds currently to fund additional animal model work. They’re also validating the fact that their molecules can be produced at scale, and safely enough for human trials and FDA approval.
One thing that gets Rajeev and Sunil (and the StartUp Health community) excited about Neurofold is that it’s a true platform company. Their innovative approach to molecule development applies in Alzheimer’s, but has many, many other applications as well. The team is interested in a range of pathologies related to the presence of the tau protein in the brain.
Some startups get us excited because of a very specific breakthrough or product. With Neurofold, as exciting as their “Goldilocks” technology is, the real magic seems to be the unique blend of experience represented by the Rajeev/Sunil partnership. In their collaboration, leading scientific research at an innovative lab meets 30 years of clinical trials and commercialization know-how. We’re excited to see Neurofold develop, and then to see where the Kumar partnership goes next.
Join us in welcoming Neurofold to the StartUp Health community.
Connect with Neurofold via email
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Published: Dec 20, 2024