Teams led by Carol M. Troy, MD, PhD, of Columbia University Medical Center, and Paraskevi Giannakakou, PhD, of Weill Cornell Medical College, each received $250,000 grants as winners of the fourth annual XSeed Award, Cure announced in ceremonies in New York City on Sept. 10.
The XSeed Award is dedicated to supporting women- and minority-led life science startups in New York City by providing critical funding to bridge the gap from promising preclinical drug development research to the marketplace and commercial success.
As XSeed Award winners, Troy’s and Giannakakou’s teams will also join the Cure ecosystem. The teams will receive access to peer learning experiences and office hours with investors, entrepreneurs, and business experts to bolster their networks and raise their visibility. Graduates of each XSeed Award cohort serve as mentors and coaches for future cohorts, further strengthening the entrepreneurial community in New York City.
“The XSeed Award has firmly established itself as a critical platform for advancing life science startups led by New York City-based entrepreneurial scientists from diverse backgrounds,” said Seema Kumar, CEO of Cure. “Cure extends our congratulations to this year’s winners, two female founders whose startups are focused on transforming their discoveries into life-changing therapies for patients in need. The XSeed Award’s grant making and mentoring illustrate how Cure lives its mission to help startups thrive and grow to advance health.”
Carol M. Troy, MD, PhD, leads a team of investigators based at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) working to develop the first noninvasive treatment for retinal vascular occlusion (RVO), the sight-threatening blockage of a vein in the light-sensitive inner layer of the eye.
“Visual impairment caused by RVO has enormous effects on quality of life and can lead to sensory deprivation,” said Troy, Professor of Pathology and Cell Biology and of Neurology in the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain at CUMC. “Sometimes patients have dementia or develop it after their RVO diagnosis. We’ll use XSeed Award funds to analyze mouse retinas that we collected in prior studies to gain a better understanding of the molecular differences between eyes that did or did not do well after treatment with our investigational therapy Pen1-XBir3 versus anti-VEGF therapy. We will also validate efficacy and refine the dose-response of Pen1-XBir3 in human retinal tissue. These studies will help us understand who might benefit most from Pen1-XBir3.”
Paraskevi (Evi) Giannakakou, PhD, and her ARMA BIO co-founder Cheuk Man Cherie Au, PhD, are working to develop a first-in-class small molecule that may defeat the drug resistance that many men with advanced prostate cancer develop to standard-of-care anticancer medications.
Giannakakou, Professor of Pharmacology in Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College, said: “The Cure ecosystem is remarkable, and we are looking forward to interacting with experts and learning a lot from them – benefiting biotech expertise, drug discovery services and business insights. The XSeed Award funding will help us do vital experiments to facilitate the translation of our drug candidate to the clinic, including preclinical pharmacokinetic, toxicology, dose-finding and efficacy studies.”
Deerfield Management Company created the XSeed Award program in September 2019 through a partnership with the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) to aid the development of the Deerfield-founded healthcare innovation campus, Cure. Deerfield and NYCEDC launched the XSeed Award in December 2020, with the first cohort of winners announced in April 2021.
Since its inception, the XSeed program has helped fill early-stage funding gaps within the life sciences industry by identifying and supporting promising translational research and commercial opportunities of underrepresented and underfunded startups, financially and through mentorship.
The 2024 XSeed Award ceremony included remarks from Cecilia Kushner, Chief Strategy Officer at NYCEDC, and a panel discussion with Troy and Giannakakou. Also attending the event were Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) and New York City Council Member Carlina Rivera (D-02).
“The XSeed Awards showcase the creativity and diversity of New York City’s life sciences entrepreneurs while breaking down barriers to create equal opportunity in this thriving sector,” commented Kushner. “We are thrilled to continue working alongside Cure and Deerfield Management to provide diverse entrepreneurs across New York City with the necessary resources and capital needed to flourish. We look forward to watching this year’s winners grow in and advance the City's life sciences ecosystem in the years to come.”
The selection of the two winning teams followed review of all XSeed Award submissions and pitch presentations by finalists to the XSeed Leadership Committee, which included:
Christina Brideau, Vice President of Preclinical Pharmacology at Deerfield Discovery and Development
Glennis Mehra, PhD, Director of Biolabs@NYULangone
Joseph Pearlberg, MD, PhD, Panel Chair and Vice President of Scientific Affairs at Deerfield Management
Claire Pomeroy, MD, President and CEO of the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation
Pulkit Gupta, PhD, Senior Director-Venture Science, Lilly New Ventures
Jane Williams, MD, MPH, Vice President, Head of Neuroscience, Rare Disease and Pediatrics at Syneos Health