Ascenta Therapeutics partners with U-M

Ascenta Therapeutics has its roots in Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan, so it's no wonder the Philadelphia-area-based firm is returning to its roots to grow the business.

The clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company was founded by U-M graduates in 2003 before eventually moving to Pennsylvania. It now employs 20 people and has reached back to Ann Arbor to form a research partnership with the university that has the potential to grow.

"It's an ongoing, open-ended operation," says Mel Sorensen, president and CEO of Ascenta Therapeutics.

That partnership is between Ascenta Therapeutics and the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, where a couple of university researchers are designing a small molecule that is highly effective at inhibiting the interaction between cancer cell proteins in cell cultures. The idea is to use the molecule for a drug that kills cancer cells while causing minimal damage to normal cells. Research on this is ongoing, but Ascenta Therapeutics is optimistic about its potential.

Source: Mel Sorensen, president and CEO of Ascenta Therapeutics
Writer: Jon Zemke