AKRON, Ohio — University Hospitals Case Medical Center has spun off Fluence Therapeutics Inc., licensing to the company photodynamic therapy technology for the treatment of psoriasis and other skin diseases.
It’s the first time the Cleveland medical center has made a pre-seed investment in a start-up company, according to the center’s release. Fluence Therapeutics is housed at the Akron Global Business Accelerator, which is part of the city’s Biomedical Corridor District.
The photodynamic technology was developed over more than 20 years by clinicians and researchers in the UH Case Medical Center departments of Radiation Oncology and Dermatology, and the Case Western Reserve University Department of Chemistry.
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Photodynamic therapy uses chemical compounds that are sensitive to light to alter cell function. “The combination of this new technologic discovery with continued clinical research shows great promise for the treatment of psoriasis and other skin disorders,” said Dr. Fred C. Rothstein, president of UH Case Medical Center, in the release.
Researchers at the medical center and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine are evaluating effectiveness of using photosensitive compounds to treat psoriasis through a clinical trial funded by the National Institute of Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases.
“Psoriasis affects 6 [million] to 9 million people in the U.S. alone, with an estimated cost of over $1 billion to treat,” said Dr. Elma Baron, the principal investigator on the study, who belongs to the UH Dermatology Department and is an associate professor at CWRU School of Medicine. “Currently, there is no known cure for psoriasis, which is why this technology holds so much promise.”
Cleveland attorney and entrepreneur Warren Goldenberg has become Fluence Therapeutics’ founding chief executive, said Stephen Behm, technology management director at the Center for Clinical Research and Technology UH Case Medical Center. “He has a successful track record with early stage companies,” including CardioInsight and Imalux, that were developed at Case or University Hospitals, Behm said in the release.
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Goldenberg splits his time between being a start-up CEO and a partner in the law firm Hahn Loeser & Parks LLP where he co-chairs the Intellectual Property and Technology Group, Behm said
