Start-up Companies

The Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC) actively identifies platform-level technologies suitable for start-up company formation. These companies help create institutional value for the intellectual property derived from novel inventions made by MD Anderson researchers and faculty. Since 1987, OTC has been involved in the creation of 11 affiliated companies that have raised more than $300 million on the strength of MD Anderson technologies. Four portfolio companies listed on NASDAQ have raised more than $230 million and funded $25 million in sponsored research at MD Anderson.

Listed below are companies based on MD Anderson technologies.

OTC welcomes inquiries and is pleased to provide information regarding start-up opportunities. Please contact us for additional information.

Portfolio Companies

Macrophage (now Antigenics)
Established in 1987
Development and commercialization of pharmaceutical products to treat cancer and infectious diseases.

Aroplatin
for treatment of colorectal cancer

BioQuest (now Mast
Therapeutics)
Established 1996
Developing new technologies for anticancer and antiviral treatments that improve the performance of existing drugs and address significant problems such as drug resistance.

R-Gene (now AmpliPhi
Biosciences)
Established 1994
Gene
Therapy: E1a against Her2/neu overexpressing breast and cervical tumors.

ApoCell, Inc.
Established 2004
Biomarker discovery and development company

Castle
Biosciences, Inc.  
Established 2008
Located in Friendswood, Texas
Focus on proprietary molecular diagnostic assays that assist oncologists in individual risk-stratification for orphan cancers; Occurrence rate <40,000/year.

DNATrix, Inc.   

Established 2008
Based in Houston, Texas
Developing a new generation of oncolytic technology designed to destroy cancer cells while leaving healthy cells unharmed.

Lead product, delta24RGD, is a next-generation adenovirus.

Fem.CadeT Taxol, L.L.C. (Partnered with Cell Therapeutics, Inc.)
Established 1998
Developing and commercializing water soluble paclitaxel cancer therapeutics

IDev Technologies, Inc. (now part of Abbott Vascular)
Established 2000
Development of minimally invasive/interventional radiology devices.

BioPath
Holdings, Inc.
Established 2001
Specialty
pharmaceutical company focused on pre-clinical and clinical development of
cancer therapeutics
Delivery solutions for therapeutic compounds including siRNA

Moleculin, LLC
Located in Houston, Texas
Specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the dermatologic market.

NanoSpectra
Biosciences, Inc.
Established 2001
Nanotechnology for optical therapeutics

Nuvera Biosciences,
Inc.
Established 2004
Developing novel molecular diagnostics that will significantly improve detection and treatment of cancer

Oridigm Corporation (now MediQuest Therapeutics, Inc.)
Established 1990
Development of novel therapeutic drugs based on chemically modified polyamines, a family of important multifunctional cellular molecules. The lead Oridigm program is targeted at cancer.