G1 Therapeutics Teams up with Hatteras Venture Partners to Advance Novel Drug Discovery Pipeline
<0> G1 Therapeutics, Inc.Jay C. Strum, PhD, 919-966-9755President, G1 Therapeutics, Inc. </0>
, Inc. today announced that the company has partnered with to advance their drug discovery pipeline. G1 is progressing several novel pre- clinical small molecule inhibitors forward to provide protection of bone marrow and other organs against radiologic and chemotherapeutic insults. G1 Therapeutics was founded by Dr. Norman Sharpless, Associate Director for Translational Research at the Lineberger Cancer Center, The University of North Carolina School of Medicine and Dr. Kwok-Kin Wong, Scientific Director at the Belfer Institute for Applied Cancer Science at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School.
“G1 Therapeutics is excited to partner with the outstanding team at Hatteras. Combining our innovative research with their extensive experience in building life science companies will help us realize our mission of delivering our promising pipeline to patients sooner. Their seed funding, along with our extensive non-dilutive grant funding, will be leveraged to accelerate several high value, preclinical programs”saidDr. Jay Strum, President.
Joining G1 as Executive Chair of the Board is Christy Shaffer, PhD. Dr. Shaffer has over 20 years of experience in the life science industry, and formerly served as President and CEO at Inspire Pharmaceuticals which was acquired by Merck in 2011. “We are pleased to make our second therapeutic investment through Hatteras Discovery and I am excited to provide executive leadership for this company built on outstanding science,” stated Christy Shaffer, Managing Director of Hatteras Discovery. Clay Thorp, a General Partner at Hatteras will also be joining the Board of Directors. Clay is a co-founder of Hatteras and has founded and exited several companies in the life science industry over the past 18 years.
The company is also pleased to announce that Carol Webb, former Company Group Chairman of Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceuticals has joined the Board of Directors as an independent board member. Carol has extensive experience in the oncology supportive care space and was responsible for the successful development and launch of several successful products, including ® (epoetin alfa). Carol commented, “I am pleased to join the G1 Therapeutics’ board at this transformative stage. I am encouraged by their identification of several proprietary compounds that could revolutionize the outcome of radiation exposure and chemotherapy treatment. The scientific effort is headed by a strong, dedicated and experienced team."
To date, G1 has successfully advanced their drug discovery pipeline through greater than $4M of non-dilutive funding with additional grants pending. Sources of this funding include several grants through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, the University Cancer Research Fund based at the University of the North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Carolina Kickstart Program. In addition, the company received a $250,000 Small Business Research Loan from the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, an entity primarily funded by the State of North Carolina.
G1 Therapeutics, Inc. is a privately held pharmaceutical company based in Chapel Hill, NC, that focuses on the discovery and development of novel small molecules for use in cancer therapy and biodefense applications. These molecules are being developed for targeting specific proteins associated with cell proliferation and growth. Such therapies may be useful to protect the bone marrow and other organs, including the kidney and lung from toxic insult.
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Hatteras Venture Partners (HVP) is a venture capital firm based in Research Triangle Park, NC with a focus on seed and early stage opportunities in biopharmaceuticals, medical devices, diagnostics, and related opportunities in human medicine. The firm consists of an experienced team with a broad and complementary skill set that is particularly relevant to building successful new biomedical companies.
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